Mid-Life Philosophy--10

Maintaining My Image

When I graduated from BYU, the university awarded a couple of honorary doctorates. One of the recipients, who did not share our religious affiliation, was a commencement speaker. His speech was meant to be lighthearted and entertaining. Parts of it were very funny but other parts were inappropriate, especially in the religious setting of BYU. It was better suited for late-night television. After graduation, we went out to dinner. We talked a bit about this speech. I mentioned that from where I was sitting, I could see President Monson's reaction to everything said. During genuinely funny parts of the speech, he threw his head back and laughed. During those parts that were even slightly questionable, he did not even smile. Knowing that President Monson was on a stage in front of thousands of people, one of our friends said, "I bet those guys need to be really careful about their image."

Later that night, I mentioned to my sister that I didn't really like the thought that President Monson was carefully protecting his image. My sister said, "He doesn't have to worry about his image. He is his image." There Rachel is again, being wise.

I've thought a lot about what Rachel said. What a great thing it is to be your image--never have to worry about behaving inappropriately because you are genuinely a good person. I admit to being on my best behavior at times. I still have to filter out some things before I speak or act. And that's okay. I'm learning and growing. My goal is to become my image (and have that image be a good one). I'm not dishonest in the way I present myself. I try to be the same in the dark and in the light, at home and in public, on my own and in a crowd. This is the basis of integrity. But sometimes I have to think it through. Aspects of being my best self come very naturally. Other thoughts and behaviors come more naturally as I grow closer to my Savior. I'm not quite where I want to be yet.

One of Shakespeare's more popular lines is, "To thine own self be true." Sometimes this philosophy is used to justify bad behavior because a person is being true to whatever image she thinks she wants to promote. Honestly, we're all pretty complicated. We can choose different parts of ourselves to hold up and to develop. I choose to develop the truest part of me.

We are all children of God. I believe that wholeheartedly. We each have a divine nature and a divine destiny. We have inherited something of God's goodness within our souls. To become the truest me I can be, I need to discover my truest self. I lived before I was born. Heavenly Father knows me so much better than I know myself. The closer I am to my Heavenly Father, the better I can know who I really am. As I discover my own divine nature, I discover the true me. I want to embrace that me. I want to be true to myself. The best way to do that is by being true to God.

My image, the person I present to the world, is my choice. I want it to be a true, honest image of who I really am. And who I really am is a child of the Most High God. When I am close to Him, I come to know myself. Through the Atonement of my Savior, my behaviors change and my character changes.  I progress toward my divine potential. I am my image.