What Do You Have to Lose

I had the idea for this post last night, but I was too tired to put it down into words.  Work has been very busy, lately, and will be for a little while more.  But, the pause allowed me time to see an episode of the new Elle series that fits into it, as well.  So there is my bright side to the dark in that.

Without going into much detail at all, I'll just say that much of my last several years has been very hard and has included a lot of loss.  For the most part, I have kept a positive attitude about it and have seen and wrote about the importance of finding the benefit in the darkness and learning more about yourself.

One of the things that I learned in my years is how much I can overcome, which gives me confidence for each new challenge.  It's like my time in the military, when training puts you under extreme stress, so you learn that you can actually stand on your own and not only survive but thrive.

But, one thing that I have also learned about those dark times of struggle is this... the more that you lose, the less you have to lose.  The less you have to lose, the more you are free to do whatever you want to do for yourself, and that allows you to honestly explore and learn to enjoy who you really are.

In the Elle eposide, she wants to be friends with a girl that asks her why she likes her.  Elle couldn't come up with a reason at that point.  Later, she tells her that she likes that she doesn't care what anyone else thinks and wants her to tell Elle how to do that.

In one part, Elle asks her to bring her her spare outfit, because she had wore the wrong thing to a party and was afraid that she would be the target of laughing and more.  The girl comes to Elle and tells her that she didn't bring the outfit, because she was showing her how to not care.  She tells Elle that at one point she has bought the outfit, because she liked the way that she looked in it and told her to not hide that but to flaunt that, instead.

So, that is my point for this post.  You are you.  You like you.  You may have lost everything like a classic Job tale, or you may just be hiding away yourself.  But, what do you really have to lose... people that don't like you, anyways?  So, own it.  Flaunt it.  Build yourself up from nothing in a way that YOU like, because in the end that is all you need and might be all that will accompany you on your journey the rest of your life.