A quote to live by.

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." e.e. cummings

We all grow up with expectations about what we are supposed to do, or what we are are supposed to want. The American Dreams says we should get married, have 2.5 kids, and grow a garden with tomato plants. But for some people, this doesn't jive or seem to fit or to make sense. Maybe you don't like tomatoes, who knows? Although I adore both tomatoes and kids, I don't think it's right to be disparaging of others' aspirations or hopes. What it comes down to is having expectations of yourself, and keeping those expectations in line with what the Lord wills; then you know you can't go wrong. Worry about keeping your life in order so you can in turn help other people with their lives. I'm reading a book about Adlerian psychology right now for my Shakespeare paper, and the psychologist, Alfred Adler, talks about having social interest. Basically, loving yourself enables you to love others. I think that is a beautiful statement of living life outside societal pressures and just being the best you can be and to be around people who are trying to do the same. I know for myself that I'm going to make it a goal to not force people into my personal set of expectations because I've realized that everyone achieves their own purpose in their own way.

I also want to remind everyone that April is National Poetry Month. I'm feeling the Whitman vibe today, so here are the first two stanzas of section five of "Song of Myself":

I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you,
And you must not be abased to the other.

Loaf with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat,
Not words, not music or rhyme I want, not custom or lecture, not even the best,
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice.