Post 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

Self reflection questions like these are always difficult to answer. You want to be honest without being seemingly arrogant or too modest.  If you are either, then do you achieve the honest answer you’re looking for? But then again, do you achieve honesty if you aren’t a bit of either?

Here it goes, in rather a stream of consciousness free-form:

I’m a bleeding heart. I have a lot of compassion and empathy for people, place and things, and I often wear my heart and my emotions on my sleeve. My face doesn’t lie. In fact, it often says what I feel even before I know it.  I want the world to be a better place, and for people to know better than what they do and say most of the time.  I hold high expectations of others–and often myself–which has lead to self-inflicted suffering when those expectations aren’t met. I try like hell to let things just “be,” and it’s a daily practice that I strive to achieve, in hopes this will make me a more peaceful person. I always want to try new things, not only because I have a ferocious curiosity, but because I don’t ever want my mind (or my body) to get stale. I am still a true romantic at heart, even after experiencing unmentionable heartbreak and disappointment. I realize that I’m too idealistic, but dreams do come true, so why not mine. I love myself, but it’s hard to say it and even harder to believe it sometimes, yet I try to make a point of saying it regularly. More importantly, I always try to make my actions reflect it.  I live by the Golden Rule, as it’s the only rule that really matters. I often cry out for creative outlets, and have promised to find and give these to myself. I want nothing more than to live a happy, peaceful existence with my loved ones. That is all there is.

I don’t know that this makes me “different,” but it’s what makes me, me.