Imitation vs. freedom to be me

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson



Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?
 
OK, this challenge is hard for me.  I think that I will often imitate when I am insecure around other people and I want to be accepted and fit in.  I think that I am often blind to when I slip into this mode and surprised when I watch others with freedom to be themselves.
 
I find my lack of freedom comes from the judgements that I make about myself.  It comes from the things about myself that I am afraid to be out in the open.  The things about myself that cause me the greatest shame, also cause me to not trust anything within myself.  Now I do not think we share this shame with the general public, but as are able to be open and honest with a few, we find they can give us grace and acceptance, which then translates into strength to stand with our own uniqueness in other settings and find freedom and strength to be ourselves.