It's healthy to be yourself!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
How challenging life can be..! From the time we can stand up straight we are taught how we should behave - "Watch your manners", "Don't talk that loud", "Stop crying", or even worse "Big boys/girls don't cry", "You can't be an artist when you grow up, you need to get a REAL job" etc. We learn to keep our authentic feelings, thoughts and dreams to ourselves because they "don't match what I learned was right.." We learn to wear MASKS. We basically learn to ignore the voice of our hearts, our souls and to be who we really are... When we get to adulthood most of us use a lot of time trying to found our way back to our core selves. Ironic, isn't it?
My masks came on at a very early age - to be a "good girl for the world" out of fear of being critized/not loved for being who I was inside, and accept all my different feelings and dreams. In my teenage years I was so rehearsed on wearing masks that I had anxiety attacks (hidden from others of course - couldn't tell anyone) and I thought I was mad. Now I know differently. My anxiety attacks were healthy - because they were my soul fighting the unnatural masks and ego that others around me had helped me build. My "insanity" were a result of the internal battle field between my core self and the personality society around me had made up.
Straight from my heart - drop your masks and be who you truly are! Don't compromise your integrity. Be HEALTHY!
One of all the benefits of being authentic is that you attract people who like you for YOU, instead of people who like who you PRETEND to be. That's my experience. ;)
Summer hugs to you,
Aina