"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserves your love and affection." - Buddha When was the last time you looked into the mirror and said something nice to the person you saw in the reflection? I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if there were no handmade mirrors and, the only reflections we saw were in the eyes and faces of those we love and who love us. I bet that would stop us from looking for what is "wrong" with us and shift our attention from what the eyes see to what the heart offers. Our life journey takes us down many different roads and often detours us away from ourselves. We forget that we are all human beings designed with imperfections. We may even be more supportive and encouraging to friends and relatives than to our precious selves... Our selves who long to hear those words of encouragement and support. Is it any wonder that we feel so bad when we have been so neglected?

I'm sure that we have all tried do the "right" things....you know, go to the right schools, meet the right people, get the right job, marry the right person....Society often seduces us into believing that if we do all of the "right" things then we will be happy and successful. Many of us at midlife have experienced that you can do all of the "right" things and still find yourself waking up each day unhappy with who and where you are in life. We finally understand in a very personal way that what makes one person happy and successful is not always the same for us. Yet, we are so far off from our own paths we don't even know how to find the way back home... to ourselves.

To live an authentic life requires patience and quiet time. We must be willing to step off the treadmill we've been running on and set some time aside for ourselves. It may only be 15 minutes each morning or before going to bed. Enjoy how good it feels to be the most important person in your life. After all, without you there is nothing.

In this quiet space you may even find a new path, one of your own making, and one that just might lead you back to yourself. Don't wait for someday. Begin now.