Your Shining Star

Some of the most gifted and talented people I've ever met fail to debut their talents for fear of being ridiculed. It's a tragedy, really it is, the fact that some of the most beautiful masterpieces will never be due to the consuming fear of their yielder. The last post was about reaching for your dream despite the scoffs and rejections from others, this one, however, will focus on our greatest enemy... ourselves. Our own doubts, our own fears. The saying goes "We're all our own worst critics" and how true it is! Like a cement block we tend to stand in the way of our own success. I don't think anyone ever initially feels that they deserve to be renowned for their work. A lot of artists never feel like their work is ever good enough. That little voice of doubt in our minds so easily tends to destroy any pride we may have in our work provoking us to therefore hide it from the eyes of all others. It's a constant battle. It is, however, one that we MUST overcome in order to ever taste the sweetness of triumph in our work. Shun that faint whisper in your head, urging you to give up on your dream. Don't take even a moment to listen. It's like a poison determined to destroy any hope you may have of ever obtaining your moment to shine. 

Take Marilyn for instance. She was just an ordinary girl called Norma Jeane. A young girl with a big dream. Despite her undoubted beauty, there were plenty of reasons that she ought give up on her dream. For instance, her vast struggles with the insecurity of never being wanted, of never being good enough alone were  reason enough for her to let it all go. To let her dreams sink into the ocean of despair, a wretched ocean where the dreams of most have so tragically dispersed. She, however, kept on pursuing her modeling career. Shunning any doubt or insecurities she may have bore about herself, focusing on the potential that she DID have in opposition to the qualities that she DIDN'T. Through her determination and perseverance as well as and most especially due to her confidence and self-assurance, she would become one of the most brilliant stars in Hollywood. 

      

          I've known so many seemingly "ordinary" people who've surprised me with such astoundingly great talent, yet like a glittering diamond shrouded beneath a rag, they tend to keep these talents, these masterpieces under wraps from the rest of the world. 

I think that the world would be a much lovelier place if only we all had a courage to let our inner stars shine. If we could all only learn to display our talents to the world, to never let go of our dreams. I feel that one of the greatest causes of depression is often derived from the loss of one's dream. It is comparable to losing a part of oneself. Maybe that's why so many people suffer from depression. Their zest for life has been lost, dimmed along with their forgotten dreams and aspirations. Dimmed like a once radiant and sparkling city, their brilliance eventually faded to darkness.

So, hold onto your dreams like a prized possession. Keep a white-knuckled grip on them, for so easily can they be lost! Lost to the turbulent storm of life and all it's discouragements. Don't ever stop believing in yourself. You are capable of beautiful things and if you keep them under wraps, the world will never be blessed with having ever known them. After all, you too deserve to shine just as much as anyone else!

xoxo <3 <3 <3

~ Erin