Comments on: Are You a Social Chameleon?

By: Cyberspace Gems « Dream. Delight. Inspire.

Cyberspace Gems « Dream. Delight. Inspire. — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:06:10 +0000

[...] Are You a Social Chameleon? at Balance in Me Learn to embrace your individuality [...]

By: Kaushik

Kaushik — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:32:52 +0000

It’s wonderful to travel and be exposed to various cultures and lifestyles–it makes us aware of the many egoic roles we all have inside of us. Being multi-cultural and multi-lingual and open helps us broaden.

Thanks, great post!

By: Walter

Walter — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:21:53 +0000

Individuality is a personal choice we must either accept or reject. While blending in with the systems is good, we are at risk of living a life of conformity. By enforcing our individuality we can do things that will be of influence on others. Great people I have known have this quality of being true to themselves.

By: Anastasiya

Anastasiya — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:48:12 +0000

I can speak both Russian and Ukrainian but I have always preferred Russian (it just depends on the environment where you grow up, I guess.) I do have a few friends who speak only Ukrainian even though they grew up in Russian-speaking families and I admire them for their determination.
Most people respect the will and the strong belief that you have no matter what kind of a belief it is. People respect others who are brave up to step up for their rights and their individuality. These people are always inspiring and amazing (and I am sure that you are one of them!) This is exactly why I consider not being a social chameleon such an important part of living a wonderful and fulfilling life.

By: Anastasiya

Anastasiya — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:44:52 +0000

Thanks you for sharing your life experience with us Lauren. I really appreciate it and I am glad that I can unite more people who choose to be true to themselves on this blog.

By: Bilka

Bilka — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:14:24 +0000

Dear Anastasiya, thanks for a grate post! I am native Ukrainian, but you know that many people speak Russian in Ukraine. Thus since childhood I used to speak Russian in public places and Ukrainian – at home. Few years ago I decided to make no compromises any more. Since then I speak Ukrainian everywhere because it’s convenient for me. And you know what I found? Other people are not surprised. They accept it as my individuality. I can say that this exprience made me musch stronger!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:55:01 +0000

Fr. Michael,

I for one am happy to see you here. Diversity is to me the best offering we can experience and learn from. Thank you.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:52:17 +0000

Anastasiya,

I love the topic! Being true to ourselves is almost a mantra for me. It started with my high school commencement speech, A Different Drummer (based on Thoreau and about marching to your own drumbeat “however measured or far away”). I looked back a few years ago and realized I have pretty much lived my speech.

There are times, though, in unfamiliar situations where I can feel slightly disoriented. As you point out, going to a different country or just placing oneself in unfamiliar surroundings, can bring up for me a mild sense of discomfort if I don’t get the warm responses I am accustomed to in familiar surroundings.

Yet, this is what I value about placing myself in these situations (fortunately I don’t tend to be high anxiety in new circumstances). It provides an opportunity, as you point out so well, to be ourselves.

Part of what pushes the envelope for me is entering situations where I have no clue what I’m doing and the other participants are great at it. Why? I like being good at what I do! Yet, I realize that is about image and I don’t want that to rule my life. So, I jump in anyway!

Example: I love going to dance jams, freestyle dancing, yet I am not a dancer. So, I am not as suave as the professionals there. Hoola hooping is BIG and I don’t know a damn thing about it, but I LOVE it. So, silly as I look compared to the experts, I join in anyway! Why? Because it is FUN and life is short. I’m here for the ride!

Good for you to be yourself. I can honestly say I don’t know of much that is more important. If we are not true to who we are, we leave this life unlived. I don’t plan to do that and it doesn’t sound as if you do either!

Great article!

By: Anastasiya

Anastasiya — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:38:31 +0000

Fr. Michael,
I am so glad that you have decided to start commenting on my blog and to stop blending in. I am very happy about it not only because I have a new reader and a new commenter but because I feel honored to get comments from a priest, a person I deeply admire.
Today people have so many views on religion in general and personal development sphere is the worst in this sense because a lot of p.d. bloggers are not believers. A lot of times I do not agree with what the bloggers say and now I tend to clearly state my point of view in the comments (without offending anybody, just showing my personality.) It is definitely one of those situations where you risk being laughed at, misunderstood and losing readers but I cannot pretend that I am somebody else. A lot of my beliefs, my lifestyle and my life balance come from balance with God.
Thank you again for being my reader. I truly appreciate it!

By: Fr. Michael

Fr. Michael — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:54:27 +0000

Anastasiya,

You raise some great points here. I enjoy reading self-development blogs, but I’ve often hesitated to post comments because of the fact that I’m a priest. Often times the thought has gone through my head: people are going to see my picture and think, “What the heck is this guy doing here? He should be on some Catholic or other religious blog.” I guess my temptation has been to blend in WITHOUT PARTICIPATING in the discussion…just remaining in the background. Not sure if that makes sense to you. The fact is that we’re all brothers and sisters in the human family and we all have something to offer. We can all benefit from one another. Thanks for your thoughts.