For Crying Out Loud, I've tried, But I Just Can't Be Like Everyone Else!!

"I AM NOT HERE TO CREATE SAMENESS."

When I read this quote from The Law of Attraction Cards by Esther and Jerry Hicks, I immediately felt a resonant, deep, powerful and profound YES! It's like that very simple something you see, read, feel or hear that helps explain the very core of who you are; that removes a foggy veil you really didn't even know was there until it was removed, to reveal a clarity about you that you realize just makes sense in both its profundity and its simplicity.

But what a freedom and joy there is in that statement as well. It removes the burden and heaviness we carry of the 'supposed tos' and the 'have tos' we often internalize in our lives about being like everyone else; being pleasing to everyone else (because we appear or are perceived to be like them) and/or being what others believe we should be (based on their own 'supposed tos' and 'have tos'). Reading that statement, you can't help but feel not only that deep, profound, powerful and simple, Yes! But also a: 'Wow, that does explain why I can't seem to keep my mouth shut when everybody else goes quiet,' or 'Gosh, no wonder I take leaps of faith in favor of my own ideas of happiness and joy for my life rather than settling for and suffering through because that's what everybody else does,' or 'No wonder I've always felt and acted a little bit different from what is considered the norm, but I've never felt the need to change,'...because we're not supposed to.

It is not an understatement to say that there is a present and powerful global movement towards understanding who we are, why we are and what our purpose is in this life - and not just towards the understanding of it, but also the active living of it. Books like The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren), Inspiration and The Power of Intention (Wayne Dyer), The Diamond in Your Pocket (Gangaji), The Invitation (Oriah), not to mention ancient texts like The Holy Bible (multiple authors, know and unknown) and many, many others serve as guides for us towards the realization of that understanding of life purpose and our living of it. However, I believe the road to understanding and living your life purpose is marked not just by discovering and living what it is, but also, and importantly, by discovering what it is not. Often our knowledge of what something is for us, begins with what it isn't and knowing what something isn't for us (what doesn't feel right, what doesn't feel good) keeps us motivated to find what that something is: that which does feel right; which does feel good - for us.

So, with all this consciousness focused on identifying and living our unique purposes in this life, and with the Law of Attraction clearly stating that 'sameness' is not it, why are we so bombarded by messages of the need for conformity and sameness? People are amazingly uncomfortable in work and life with others who are perceived as not the same. As a result, and, too often, unfortunately, judgements about character, worth and value are made; jobs are gained or lost; relationships established or ended; opportunities gained or missed; experiences had or lost, all because of this need for sameness when that is exactly not who we are and not why we are here.

The sadness about all this is that the sameness we judge each other on misses the point and encourages weakness in our actions and relationships, personally and professionally. It takes little courage or boldness to judge each other on superficial things that are not meant to be the same, like: 'He doesn't make the choices I would make,' or 'She doesn't make decisions the way I do,' or 'She doesn't live her life the way I think she should,' or 'He makes me feel uncomfortable' or, what this all usually boils down to simply is: 'S/He doesn't have the same fears, insecurities and judgement of self that I do.' Imagine the missed opportunities, joys, experiences, learnings and successes when we judge each other this way and act toward each other according to those judgements. While it takes greater courage to look beyond superficial sameness to value and embrace our natural differences, imagine the gain, the freedom, the joy if we were to take that courage and judge each other solely on the one aspect that doesn't miss the point; the one aspect that is the same among us all: the illuminating power of love within each of us. What if we reached out to each other in work and life toward that sameness...the only sameness that is; the only sameness that endures.

To discover and live your purpose; to be that change agent in your work and for your world; to live truly and engage the world powerfully - be the difference your were purposed to be in this life. Besides, the law (of attraction) is on your side!!

Be courageous. Be different. BE ILLUMINED!