Problems with Pinterest Philosophies ~ Part 1

Feel free to be you.

Life is too short to be someone else, be you.

You are beautiful.

You are the only you.

Believe in yourself.

You are unique.

You are who you are.

You need to hear all of these things, so embrace them and make them your mantra and never change.

At least, that's what the world is telling everyone, most notably on Pinterest but in a million other ways as well. In fact, it's getting rather confusing. Does the world want us to fit in, or be ourselves? It gets more confusing when "being ourselves" means wearing the same clothes, listening to the same music, and having the same hobbies as all of those other people who are "being themselves".

That's not the point.

The point is, there is a recurring bit of grammar in each of those short sentences that makes me sick. Have you caught it yet? It's a pronoun. Let's go back and take a look.

~

Feel free to be you.

Life is too short to be someone else, be you.

You are beautiful.

You are the only you.

Believe in yourself.

You are unique.

You are who you are.

You need to hear all of these things, so embrace them and make them your mantra and never change.

~

All of these sayings point to you. They appeal to your natural instinct for self-preservation, self-pity, self-commendation, and self-anything-else-you-can-think-of. That's a lot of self. 

I know there are times when we are down in the dumps, feel like everyone is against us, or like life will never be the big fairytale that Pinterest makes it out to be. (Another fallacy for another time!) I don't think feeding the Self-Monster is the right way to go, though.

In fact, the Bible is very explicit on the matter of self, as we can see from a couple of verses.

Philippians 2:3
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

James 3:16
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

There's only one "self" that you encouraged to have and that is self-control. 

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

So on those days when you don't feel like a princess (or prince, as the case may be!), when you feel ugly, hopeless, or lack motivation, what do you do? If embracing the selfish sayings is...well...embracing the selfish, then what's left to help you feel better? No, it isn't food.

The best princesses are caring of others. The best way to promote your own well-being is to do what you can for those around you. Stop thinking of yourself! If the mood and atmosphere is dark, then get up and do something for someone else! Please, stop thinking of you.

Okay, so we've got that established, but now you want a list of practical ways to help others, right? I thought so.

1. Clean the kitchen. Not only will it make you feel better to see those sparkling counters, but it makes everyone else feel better too. Especially the person who has to make dinner.
2. Make dinner. If Mom makes dinner, than I know that she'd love to have a break for one evening.
3. Play a game. Gather together your siblings, especially the ones who are constantly begging you to play with them. Engage in their conversation. Laugh. Enjoy their sparkling eyes.
4. Vacuum the carpets. This always makes a difference, not only in appearance, but it's a great way to force out that bad humor!
5. Take a meal to your Grandparents. Not only will they appreciate the meal, they'll appreciate seeing you as well!
6. Volunteer. There are thousands of places to volunteer at, so find one that fits your preferences (or better yet, one that doesn't!) and go for it! I used to volunteer at the local library, but other ideas are soup kitchens, charity bazaars, and community service.
7. Plan a family outing and suggest the idea to your parents. Extra points if you can plan something that doesn't cost much!
8. Do a chore that has been neglected for a long time. Does the stove need to be cleaned? Books need organized? Laundry need to be folded? Do it!

As a final thought-provoking inspiration, here's a video that I think fits with this idea of dying to self quite well. If we only have a short time on earth, what are we doing to make that time extend into a glorious eternity?