Be Your Best Self!

Too often we fall short of our true potential. We seem to be stuck in a rut of undesirable routines and habits.  We want to change, but seem to be unable to muster the discipline required to become our best self. In the pursuit of excellent living we seem to be battling windmills like Don Quixote with similar results. The solution to this malaise of mediocrity is illustrated by one of my favorite stories – The Story of Lord George.

Lord George had led an evil life.  He had been a drunkard, a gambler and a cheat in his business.  And his face reflected the life he had led. It was an evil face. 

One day he fell in love with a simple country girl, to whom he proposed marriage.  Jenny Mere told him that she could never marry a man whose face was so repulsive and so evil looking. And also that when she did marry, she wanted a man with a saint-like face, which was the mirror of true love.

Following a custom of the day, Lord George went down to Mr. Aeneas in Bond Street, London.  Aeneas made waxen masks for people and his skill was so perfect that the person’s identity was completely hidden. As proof of his skill, it was said that many spendthrift debtors, equipped with his masks, could pass among their creditors unrecognized.  Aeneas went to his storeroom, selected a mask, heated it over a lamp, and fixed it to Lord George’s face.  When Lord George looked in the glass he had the face of a saint who loved dearly.  So altered was his appearance that Jenny Mere was soon wooed and won.

He bought a little cottage in the country, almost hidden in an arbor of roses, with a tiny garden spot.  From then on his entire life changed.  He became interested in nature.  He found, sermons in stone, books in brooks, and good in everything.  Formerly his life was blasé and life had no interest for him, now he was engrossed in kindliness and the world around him.

He was not content with starting life anew, but tried to make amends for the past.  Through a confidential solicitor he restored his ill-gotten gains to those whom he had cheated.  Each day brought new refinements to his character, more beautiful thoughts to his soul.

By accident, his former companions discovered his identity.  They visited him in his garden and urged him to return to his old evil life.  When he refused, he was attacked and the mask was torn from his face.

He hung his head.  Here was the end of it all.  Here was the end of his newfound life and his love dream.  As he stood with head bowed with the mask at his feet on the grass, his wife rushed across the garden and threw herself on her knees in front of him.  When she looked up at him what do you suppose she found?  Lo, line for line, feature for feature, his face was the same as that of the mask.

What a wonderful story, we do take on the appearance of our thoughts, our desires, and our actions.  It is important to note that the mask was a façade, the change came from within, it came from his heart.  As we act in harmony with timeless principles, our hearts begin to transform and there comes a point when we are no longer ACTING, but we realize that we are evolving into something better that we ever could have imagined and see the potential for even greater transformation as we go forward day by day.  

I realize that some of you that are reading this blog post are not religious.  For me, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I hold Jesus Christ up as the person that I want to emulate. As I emulate in my own life the timeless values Christ taught and exemplified like honesty, integrity, obedience, patience, long suffering, kindness, meekness, humility, and diligence – I see me becoming a better version of myself.  Everyday, I fail to live up to the ideal, but I take baby steps towards becoming my best self. As you act by emulating these principles in your life, I know that you will have a similar result. The speed of change is inconsequential; the direction we are heading is critical!  Over time, small course corrections now, produce colossal changes in the future.

As we move forward, our self-confidence will flourish. Will this not increase our HOPE? We will then not be afraid –

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

Begin your quest to Be Your Best Self today! Till next time, keep your head up!