Adding a twist to my morning meditation, I decided to listen to a podcast reflection from Franciscan Friar Father Dan Riley of St. Bonaventure University at Mt. Irenaeus. The reflection back from Lent discussed how we all are perfect, just as we are. That instead of trying to fix ourselves to be ourselves. Father Dan referenced the song “Big Yellow Taxi” and the refrain, “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.” Apply that yourself: If you are fine, if you are good enough just the way you are, why pave over it? Why disguise it?

While running at Delaware Park, I overheard part of a conversation between an older woman and a teenage boy: “That way, when you get to be 20, to be 30, you will know that you chose your path. That was your path.” I don’t know what the entire conversation was about, but it made me smile and I felt a little stronger just hearing those words encouraging authenticity.

Don’t worry what the “developers” and “experts” have to say. It is your path. You don’t need to be fixed. You just need embrace yourself as you are in this moment. The rest will take care of itself.