Being Me. Being You.

My younger sister was a quiet gentle soul that everyone loves to love.
Sweet and kind, with a quirky sense of humour, she collected friends as a magnet does iron filings.
I, on the other hand, was the one with too much to say, and my unfortunate habit of saying it too bluntly did nothing to enlarge my circle of friends.

Many were the times when I wished I could be like her
I admired all in her that was lacking in me.
For one incredibly stupid season, I tried to behave like her in an effort to crank up my friendship circle.
It nearly split my mind.
I learned the hard way that trying to be someone else is a big mistake.

One day, my sister and I were having a heart to heart
And I told her what I have just told you.
She looked at me in amazement -
And told me that she has spent her life wanting to be more like me.
We gaped at each other in disbelief

I was vividly reminded of this during a conversation with a much admired friend.
She is in her early 80's,  an avid hiker, forever off on some new adventure and up for any challenge.
She is also neck deep in helping needy people: details are sketchy because she doesn't talk easily about what she does.
She lives alone, is invariably upbeat and enjoys her life thoroughly.
And yet there was, in her, the same dynamic as between my sister and me.
She sees in others the way she would like to be -
And can't see anything special about herself

Why do we think that the way we are is less than, rather than just different from?
Why is it so much easier (and maybe more socially acceptable?) to focus on what's lacking in ourselves?
I'm not advocating arrogance or vanity
But imagine the change if we each embraced our own personality packages and just got on with living those out.
There's a reason for uniqueness . . .