Being Yourself - Imperfect Perfection

Underpinning my work with individual or corporate clients is the immense respect, if not awe, that I have for the individual being in all its perfection & imperfection. In our society though, it seems that we have a difficult time being who we are or who we want to be. How often are our objectives shifted, adjusted or deleted to fit in with what others want us to be?

Some 30 years ago a friend introduced me to the thought provoking music/lyrics of Dory Previn - Her apparent victory over an intense struggle to make sense of her life, resonates in the words below. In our own lives, personal and professional, we often complicate the same quest … Turning to quick-fixes promised by the banal messages of money makers rather than our inner voice/instinct.

I love the simplicity of Dory Previn's message that makes claim to neither doctrine nor label:

"I no longer plead with heaven

or go rummaging in books

for answers to the questions

life contains

now i listen

listen

listen to this inner thing resounding

in the resounding

in the pulsing and the pounding

of my infant ancient veins

i no longer seek instruction

from my father and my mother

i have mastered

all their pleasures and their pain

no i listen

listen

listen to this inner thing resounding

in the pulsing and the pounding

of my infant ancient veins

the feeling in my blood flow

is a simple thing y'see

everything and nothing

in the parody is me

i'm the hero

i'm the villain

the beginning and the end

i'm creator

i'm destroyer

i'm the enemy the friend

i'm an animal

a spirit

flying high and falling down

i am special

i'm important

i am sacred

i'm a clown

so i stumble through the chaos

dragging clumsily behind me

all the eggshells

and the fish scales

and the fur pelts of my past

while this thing goes on

inside me at one with all

the vastness

the fantasies

and fictions

and when all the contradictions

come together

come together

they will fit

the feeling in my blood flow

is a simple thing y'see

i am it

i am it

we are everything and nothing

but that's how to play the game

in these weather beaten bodies

with these god forsaken brains

we can listen

listen

listen to the universe resounding

in the pulsing and the pounding

of our infant ancient veins

listen

listen

listen and it all begins to fit

you are it

your are it..."

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First published: 03 Jun. 2009