John Mason, founder
and president of Insight International, a minister, an inspirational Speaker
and the author of several books, wrote Imitation is Limitation, one his most
wonderful books. This book is timeless. The points he has reminded us are so
important and if anybody decided to work on those points, he or she would
become a world class human being. He reminds us of the need to realize that we
are God’s original masterpiece, each in our own way and that imitating anybody
else or trying so hard to be accepted by everybody is an injustice to ourselves
and to God. Imitation is limitation. I shall try to share with you some of the
major ideas that he has shared in that book over the next few days.
IF YOU ARE NOT YOU, THEN WHO ARE YOU GOING TO
BE?
“Wood may remain ten years in the water, but it
will never become a crocodile!”
Powerful point from a Congolese proverb. I could not but be taken up by that beautiful
proverb in the book. In short you are who you are. Julius Hare is also quoted
in the book as saying that, ‘Be what {or
better still, who} you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than
you are.’ We all want to grow and shine and be successful but we forget to
brand our selves. We can only become better by first accepting ourselves, with
our weaknesses and strengths and then growing from there. That is the launch
pad.
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I
can change.” Carl Rogers. Great point. I can’t change until I love that
image in the mirror. I can only get stagnant and wasted. I add that what most matters in life is not what others
think about you but what you think about yourself. You are not the sum
total of other people’s opinion of you. You are who you decide to be. Reconnect
with your life giver and let Him tell you for what you were created. You are
here on purpose and for a purpose. Powerful words from John Mason. Andre Gide
says in the book that, ‘It is better to
be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not.’ How many of
us fall into the trap of being pleasers in order to be accepted and liked. We play
to the audience but we cry at the privacy of our rooms. ‘Until you make peace with who you are, you will never be content with
what you have.’ The words of Doris Mortman. You can be a King in slum or a
slave in a palace.
I liked this point. “The person who walks in someone else’s
tracks never leaves his/her own footprints!!” Think of that for a moment. Are
you living your own dreams or the dreams of your friends, peers, parents or
society at large? Why do you do what you do? Why are you who you have chosen to
be? And by the way, did you actually choose to be and do what you are doing and
being right now or is it a result of someone too timid to live465 his or her
own life? John Mason reminds us that the opposite of courage is not fear but
conformity. Being everyone else except yourself.
I found the words of
Leo Buscaglia inspiring and I will leave them with you, “The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing
to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that
position.”
So be original and not
a copy. You are God’s original masterpiece. But you’ve got to believe it. I can’t
do that for you. Don’t be an atheist of your own awesomeness.
