Love at first sight
I fell smack dab in love with this dress when I first laid eyes on it last week. I was literally breathless when I first saw it.
It may not look like much but everything about this dress is perfect for me.
The construction. The petal layered skirt. The puff shoulders. The heavy fabric. I feel like a little princess in it.
You would have thought it was a $20,000 royal gown by how I felt wearing it.
I own a lot of favorite dresses. They are ranked. This one skyrocketed to #1.
When I tried it on, I fluttered out of the dressing room, excited to find someone who would validate that yes — this dress was indeed perfect on me.
As I twirled and posed flirtatiously, a lady shrugged and dismissed it as being “ok” on me before wandering off like a lost sheep.
I bought it anyway.
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If I can’t trust myself…
I never once doubted for a moment that I would buy the dress. Even if everyone hated it, there was something about it that was so right for me.
I stick relentlessly to what I know is right for me.
Later it occurred to me how often people dismiss things upon hearing what someone else thinks. They suddenly doubt their own taste or opinion.
The more we look to others for validation or proof that we are right, the more we disconnect from ourselves.
We disconnect from our feelings, our personal preferences, principles, instincts, and inner knowing.
Sometimes it’s about something as simple as a dress or choosing a paint color for the bedroom, but sometimes we are easily swayed on bigger issues — the kind of things that really matter.
If we don’t trust what is right for us on the small things, how will we make the right decisions on the big stuff?
Knowing yourself starts with the small stuff.
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You don’t need to define it
Other people may not be wowed by the dress the way I am, but that’s the beauty of life.
We all get to choose what we prefer and desire— and we don’t need to justify it to anyone.
Others may not understand why something — or someone — tugs at our little hearts. We fall in love with things and people that draw something from within us — and sometimes we can’t quite define what it is.
Love is funny that way.
And sometimes we make decisions that are different from what everyone else is doing — whether it is selling everything to live in a camper van, changing political parties or opting instead for holistic living and natural remedies.
In those cases I do my research and I vet things out until I feel confidently aligned with my choice.
Whatever I choose, there is only one thing I must know.
I simply have to know that it is right for me.
And that alone is good enough. ❤
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: leah hetteberg on Unsplash