AOM Meditations: 102820

by Wes Hempel

~*~

"All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with:  that I am nobody but myself."

~Ralph Ellison

~*~

"Be yourself and only yourself.

Be careful what you allow

into your body and into your space.

Even the food you put into your body

is crucial to your well-being

and to your sense of Self.

Take care of yourself.

Do not allow anything outside of you

to contaminate you.

Whatever you read affects you.

The television programs you watch,

the movies you see

and the music you listen to

have a profound impact on you.

Be discriminating.

Be discerning.

But do not be judgmental.

If you live a refined life,

you will become more refined.

Choose your friends wisely.

Do not allow others to get caught up

inside you or attached to you.

And don't you become caught up with

or attached to others.

You must be yourself and only yourself

If you are to know the truth of who you are."

~Leonard Jacobson