you’re a mess of contradictions. how very beautiful.

“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.”
- Walt Whitman

Soon after we met, my man and I were getting ready for a party. “I’m not good at parties,” I warned him. “What?! You’re like the public-speaking power chicklet.” “Noooo. I’m the girl in the kitchen who talks to one person all night and leaves without saying goodbye.” Give me a stage and I will rock the house. Give me a house party and you’ll barely know I’m there.

Authenticity is not an either/or equation. Your soul is an all-inclusive package … frills, foibles, and contradictions. It’s your opposing parts that leverage your magnificence into full force.

My extroverted introversion used to cause me great grief. Am I a sincere fake? The Boo Radley freak who doesn’t talk to neighbours? Surely, if I were more genuine and loving I’d be more outgoing. Sigh. None of it’s true. All of it’s true. I’m an outgoing Lone Ranger, a white Canuck who feels like a Nubian Queen on the inside, a fiercely loyal opportunist.

HOW TO SPOT YOUR CONTRADICTIONS
: When has someone said, “That really surprises me about you,” “I can’t believe you did that”?
: Where do you feel the pull to compromise vs. rebel?
: Guilt can be a primo indicator for inner truth tugs. What are your guilty pleasures or indulgences?
: What do you save for special occasions {from your dancin’ shoes to your verbal affection}?
: What would going “wild” look like for you?
: What do you deny yourself?

LOVVVE YOUR ASSORTED WAYS
Now, aren’t you a curious critter? The Buddhist who knows every Metallica song by heart. The stay-at-home mom who wants to be a pole dancer. The Pro-Choice devout Catholic.

Don’t resign yourself to your idiosyncrasies. “Accepting” yourself is a passively lame option for full-tilt self love. Exalt your contradictions, celebrate them, go so far as to use them to your divine advantage.

Congratulations! You are large. You contain multitudes.