On Being Badass
"Part of why being comfortable with yourself is the first key to being badass is, it's fucking hard to be yourself. And the more unlike your social environment you are, the harder it is. It's a hard road to choose, a harder road to walk, and an even harder road to stay true to, up until a certain point at least. Getting to that point is hard."
~namfle on murnkay's post: Limitations Do Not Serve You Well
murnkay's post was an awesome one. But this one quote from Namfle is a whole other level of badass all on it's own.
I say this, because Namfle hits head-on one of the most difficult choices we have as individuals: to be true to the soul deep within ourselves - or to "get along" and "fit in". Every individual is unique; every one of us a "special snowflake", as a friend of mine would say. Sometimes we are unique in ways somewhat similar to the environment we find ourselves in (through birth or happenstance). Often, we are unique in ways that set us apart from others, sometimes leaving us feeling alone even as we are surrounded by family and friends.
Choosing to follow our own uniqueness - to live true to the real soul deep within us and to follow our dreams - can be brutally difficult at first. Searing, burning, and painful until that inner light can burst from us. It is often a lonely walk.
Ostensibly, if we reject that uniqueness, we can sometimes get along more smoothly or - at least seemingly fit in better and this can make life a lot more pleasant externally. But it has other reprecussions. When we don't live true to ourselves, it always shows through. It may come out in self limitations, or depression, or weight issues or self-esteem/insecurity issues or in various other manners. The manifestations may not always be clearly linked, but the dissonance *will* manifest.
The universe drives toward unity. Denying the truth of ourselves creates conflict and conflict belies unity. And this is the real truth of Namfle's statement.
Being true to yourself really is "fucking hard". And those who have completed this journey have truly earned the right to be Badass.