THE TRUTH WILL SET US FREE

by Aida Noah

My loving sister, Anna,

If I say yes to the wishes of mom and dad to settle down at our birthplace, sure I would please them, but I am no longer myself. Saying yes meaning I am not being honest and truthful to me, to you and to the family. I am selling my integrity and principle short. In the long run, I may resent myself for not standing up to what and who I am. For not seeing my self-worth by placing others’ wishes above me. How do we expect others to love, respect and honor us if we don’t even have a healthy dose of respect for ourselves?

I’ve learned that self-esteem is about saying yes to the wisdom of our hearts, the small voices inside. About respecting and loving ourselves regardless. It’s also about choosing to say no to something or someone that won’t support us to be true to our unique individual essence. In the process, you might hurt others but you also make them realize who you really are. If they are your true friends or they love you unconditionally, they’ll come to accept, love and appreciate you just the way you are.

A relationship based on sincerity is like a ray of light in the darkness. It is healthy, motivating, courageous, inspiring, loving, and free. Try to be someone else, Anna, and you’ll be cheating yourself of peace, contentment and joy from your life. Your choice may not be right all the time, still it’s yours. You take responsibility of its consequences. You’ll learn from your error and you’ll gain a deeper understanding and awareness of yourself. As a result, you grow emotionally, spiritually and mentally. A tremendous inner growth you might not experience if you live by others’ dictates and wishes. You come to know your strengths, your weaknesses, your creativities, your wisdom, your dreams, your fears, and your ingenuities. All is because you choose to be truthful to yourself. All is because you learn to say yes and no with the conviction of your heart.

If you say yes to someone not with your loving thought, you wouldn’t be going to live the rest of it with any measure of peace. Try it, Anna, and you’ll see what I have been trying to tell you all these years. Be true to yourself. Remember when you called off your marriage and engagement to your fiance months ago, how did you feel? Probably sadness, grief and disappointment. In spite of that, you managed to feel proud for being truthful to your own feelings, for standing up and proclaiming you were worthy of goodness in life. You learned about what you wanted and didn’t want in a relationship. You learned to listen to the whisper of your soul. These will eventually lead to the discovery of who you truly are, of your strength and courage, and the wise judgment of your own inner council. All because you dared to say yes or no, based on the wisdom of your heart.

Do what you love, Anna, not what is expected of you. Free yourself to choose, to act, to just be yourself. Be true to yourself, question your values. Are they yours or impose upon you by others? Do you borrow your principles from somewhere or someone else or are they uniquely yours? Do you look outside to validate your worth, or you know you are God’s perfect creation, always worthy of everything? This is the kind of questions that keep me awake for so many years, Anna. Who am I? Do I have the courage and faith to just be myself? I am not going to give away my power, not even to mom and dad whom I love with all my being, to decide what is best for me. I do things my way, make my own errors and find my way back with God’s guidance and light, and embrace my own journey and victories.

Our setbacks and adversities are blessings in disguise, Anna. Even when they don’t seem like so in our eyes, there are always lessons to be learned. The end of your engagement served you as an opportunity to meet other people worthy of your love and attention. I’ve learned that life is not what it seems to be. It has many secrets, disguises, blessings and wisdom. Its mystery is mighty, only God knows its truest and deepest meaning. I believe if we are truly ready and willing to find the truth, God will reveals to us the many secrets of His creations - if and only if you sincerely want the truth and seek the truth. But you must first be truthful to the calling of your authentic self.

I am not sorry for who I am, Anna, but I am truly sorry for not being able to fulfill mom’s and dad’s wishes to see me settle back there. I love, respect, and honor them, also I always stay true to who I am. I pray that you understand my decision and accept it with an open heart and mind. Till we meet again, I forever remain your loving sister.

With deepest love and affection,

Your little sister, Aida

THE END

Author info:

Aida Noah is the author of weight loss tips at http://www.startlosingpounds.com/  A helpful site for busy people (that’s most of us) who want to lose pounds safely and permanently. Even if you are not a busy person, you’ll enjoy adopting its simple and healthy weight loss tricks. Also, the tips are practical and easy to incorporate into our daily routines. Aida approaches shedding extra pounds from mind, body and spiritual perspectives.