5 Reasons I Love Me So Much!

1. I Am the Closest Person to Me

No matter where I go, how far I travel, how much distance I put between myself and loved ones, I cannot escape me. Imagine if you are forced to be with another human being for the rest of your life, wouldn't you try to find some way to like them, fall in love with them? For forty plus years of my life, I didn't give much thought to the relationship that I have with myself. I took it for granted. I disregarded the cornerstones that allow relationships to thrive – trust, communication, acceptance and encouragement. I continually work on all of those facets with myself now. I trust that I have purpose, and I am on the right path. I am persistent in my effort to actualize all of who I am because I trust my development and direction. I spend time communicating with me through prayer, meditation, writing, speaking positive affirmations and researching aspects of who I am. I accept all of me, and I celebrate every part, even if I have to party all by myself! And like Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers told us, sometimes you have to encourage yourself! We all have goals, dreams and aspirations. I am a believer in mine, and sometimes that is all it takes, because me, myself, and I are the coach, the star player and the cheer squad. Gooooooo ME! Start cheering people.

2. I Am a Masterpiece 

Imagine you went to a museum and saw a painting. Let’s say you weren't particularly moved by it but you thought it was okay. Upon closer inspection, you realized it was an original Van Gogh. Now you cannot believe your eyes, it takes you a moment to catch your breath. You are standing in a room with a masterpiece, a priceless work of art, you are moved to alert everyone in your party what you have discovered and you spend the next few minutes staring in awe at what is clearly a masterpiece; not because the painting has changed, but because you recognize the creator as a master. I cannot believe my eyes, it takes me a moment to catch my breath when I think about the depth and breadth of my greatness – not because I have changed but because I finally recognize my Creator is the Master. I am moved to alert all to what I have discovered, and I invite you to stare in awe at the Master’s work. It's in your mirror.

3. I Am Free

I stopped packing, labeling and delivering myself in a neat little conformist box based on what he, she and society say about me. I am free, liberated, created in the Image of God. I am a spirit; that is my true identity, everything else is made up. As long as you identify with your spirit, it doesn't matter how anyone else judges your flesh. When God introduced me to my true self, I was taken aback by my beauty and brilliance.

I refuse to ever be subjugated to a race, gender, religion, nationality, you name it, again. Remember in elementary school, when it was time to play a game, the teacher would group you by numbers. Everyone would go around the room and count – 1,2,3 and then repeat 1,2,3. All the ones would be on a team and all the twos would be on a team and so on. Once the game was over, you would be go back to being you. Okay, the game is over! Oly oly in come free! You are no longer a number, statistic, or demographic. Stop playing a role and start loving the authentic you.

4. I am the one and only me

When I would hear, there is no one else quite like you, I took that to mean there is something special about my person, and there is. But I have come to realize that, there is no one else quite like you, means there is no one else that can do the things that I can do. It is less about me being unique for the sake of self-celebration and more about me being unique for the sake of service. I have a purpose, and if I don’t fulfill my purpose I am letting down the universe. There are men, women and children waiting on me to do my thing, and I have been so caught up in my feelings that I almost stopped making it do what it do. What if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, or Mother Teresa gave up? Where would our world be?  Now take a moment and think of all of the people who actually have given up, even if it were only 10 greats in history. How much further could we be towards world peace, global conservation, space travel, medicinal cures, teleportation, making sure men and women receive the same wage for the same work... I have a job to do; I cannot do it feeling like I am not enough or I was born the wrong race, gender or class. I am uniquely created for such a time as this, and so were you. I am waiting to hear your music, use your app, vote you into office, and celebrate your historical 1^st.

5. I Am Responsible for Me

The comedienne, Katt Williams, so eloquently explained, "Self-esteem is the esteem of your MFN self."  Many people look for outward validation to gauge how they should feel about themselves. This is a lose lose. When we don't receive positive affirmation from our parents, significant other, children, friends, boss, co-workers etc., our esteem dips because we feel like we are not enough, we don't measure up. When we do jump through all the necessary fiery hoops to be liked, appreciated and applauded our esteem dips because we lose sight of who we are and begin to feel more like a show puppet rather than a human being. You will find your value in being, just being. It isn't in your accomplishments, talents, abilities or promotions. It isn't in your prominent spouse, successful children, lavish car, house in the hills. Just stop and take some time to be, acknowledge the wonder of your existence. We praise God for all that He has done and all that He will do in our lives, but acknowledge that if He didn't do another thing, He has already done more than enough. Take a moment and evaluate how you would feel about yourself, if you didn't do one more thing while on this earth or receive one more trapping of this world. Can you acknowledge the miraculous miracle that you are? My birth is more than enough. I am excited about my existence. I am in awe of this instant. I relish right now. I am in love with her and she with me. 

Dreamers vs. Doers

I am a dreamer, or I like the term, thinker, so I spend a lot of time living in my head. The world would have us believe that acting or doing is the way to be. I wish I had more of a balance, but honestly there is nothing at all wrong with being a thinker. We are often more content in being - just being and not as easily swayed by the trappings of the world. Doers are movers and shakers, grinders; they make stuff happen. Thinkers are big picture people, they are more sensitive to the universe; they know what is going to happen. Both types of people may deal with negative internal influences. Actors/doers don't usually like to be alone, because thinking about past occurrences can be painful. Thinkers want to be alone, so they can protect themselves from the pain of outside entities. Most highly "successful" people are balanced.

President Barack Obama has a proclivity toward being a thinker. It took us awhile to get use to his deliberative speech pattern and many are annoyed by his unwillingness to act in the case of foreign affairs. As a country, we decided that we did not want more war, so we elected a thinker to be our president, but not everyone is comfortable with that. People want him to do something. He is a big picture person and doesn't feel forced into immediate action, especially when that action could possibly run contrary to his future desired outcome. He enjoys personal time reading and with his immediate family.He has been chastised for not being social enough, not schmoozing with his cohorts,  but he is unwilling to reduce his office to a popularity contest. He believes people should do what is right because it is right. That is how thinkers behave. But doers know that other doers have huge egos that need daily strokes, and it is the doers, grinders, hustlers that make things happen; sleazy or not people perceive them as getting the job done. Now, surely President Obama has worked hard and done a lot to become the lead actor on the world's stage. However his actions are based on his internal compass, pure and not for the sake of busy work or pointing to "look what I did." Most dreamers are also awesome "performers"; hence, the awe inspiring speeches. But that isn't who we are; it is a talent that we turn on, and then sigh when it's over and resume where we left off in our real lives. In a nutshell, thinkers will do everything within their power to save the earth for future generations; doers will lie in bed with the oil, coal and fracking industry, if when they get up, everyone is a little more green.

Oprah Winfrey is a doer. She is social, loves to throw big parties and host guests, but doers are not naturally the best "performers". They are more comfortable in their skin and do not adapt well to turning on and then turning off. That is why everyone is so comfortable sitting and talking with Oprah; she is being herself and not "performing." Oprah makes things happen; builds a school in Africa, starts her own network, introduces America to the next POTUS. Oprah is a self made billionaire because she is brilliant and business savvy. But Oprah recognized early on in order to keep herself out of the muck and mire of people who will utilize any means to get to their desired end, she had to surround herself with dreamers; Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Inyanla Vanzant, President Barack Obama. Again, the most successful people have a balance. Oprah embraces her role as a doer, and strives to create balance internally and externally.

Musical genius comes from dreamers/thinkers. For example, Prince and Michael Jackson. They are ahead of their time when it comes to creating and they give the best performances. However, they are extremely hesitant, even shy and often misunderstood when it comes to giving personal interviews or just sitting and talking with small groups of people that are unfamiliar. Dr. Dre and Diddy are doers. They smell opportunity and seize it. Doers often criticize and even take advantage of thinkers. They see them as lazy, inept, unable to take the necessary steps to get from A to desired B. So, they usher dreamers into the arena of "success" as managers, producers, agents, and publishers. Thinkers pass judgement on doers and find them morally bankrupt, self-serving, and manipulative. Thinkers know that without their art, there would be nothing to "sell", and because they see their art as a part of their being, they sometimes feel exploited and often are. But in the end both parties are needed!

If you are not rich nor famous, many thinkers are looked at as odd, unwilling to work hard, and do what it takes to get ahead. They are sometimes loners, misunderstood, and they question their own inability to be like "everyone" else. The world tells us that we should have places to go, people to see, posts and pics on social media. But being a dreamer is okay. Actually, it is awesome the more in tune you become with self. The key is for dreamers to realize who 

they are and what they should be doing will happen naturally. Doers who have not hit it big are in an equally precarious position. They are the people always doing something. The people we see coming and just want to yell, STOP! But they cannot. They always have a business, a hustle, and 2.5 jobs. All of their endeavors don't seem completely on the up and up, but you will see their pics and posts on social media here, there and everywhere. The key for doers is the same as dreamers; realize who you are and the what you should be doing will become clear. Knowing who we are is as important for what we lack as it is for what we have in abundance. Acknowledge the need for balance through self discovery, acceptance, and positive outside influences. Allow God to introduce you to you and fall head over heels in love! Then dream big and for goodness sake, do something!