Identity Care

Assuming full risk for being a bragger, I'm going to start this post by stating that in the past weeks I've been pleased to have been defined as a woman who loves being a woman, a very mature girl, confidence-exuding, very-sexy yet untouched-by-the-need-for-the-approval-of-others, wise ... that sort of things that might seem unrelated but aren't. The point is - there is so much talk now a days about confidence and self-esteem, so much desire for getting to know yourself and reaching self-acceptance. Aaaah! ... but it comes with a price. When you do know and love yourself you are FORCED to walk your talk and practice what you preach. Once you know who you are, you have the huge responsibility of holding onto your principles, and what is often even harder, living up to them. And once you've built your identity, you have to keep on nurturing it. For me, right now, this means making sure I do give myself some pleasure reading time una que otra noche; some cooking time so I can eat polenta to make my argentinian side feel at home, and platanos to please my panamanian side; and making sure I don't fall out of the comforting addiction of drinking mate every afternoon. I know you didn't need to know that, but maybe you now want to make your current list of nurturing needs for your own identity ... they aren't as stable as we'd like them too, they're more like volatile, malleable, shakable little things in their CAUTION FRAGILE boxes, you know? ...