“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”

Lao Tzu

This has never been my way of thinking. Growing up and moving around I rarely considered what other people thought of me. East Coast, MidWest, Pacific Northwest, or So Cal, they all had their trends and what was "cool" over the years, I preferred to march to the beat of my own drummer. Which reminds me of the quote from Walden.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to music which he hears, however measured or far away."

- Henry David Thoreau

This makes me smile every time I read or say this Thoreau quote out loud. I have never wanted to be a drummer but have always made or heard my own music. I do things no one around me can or cares to do. One thing I have noticed recently is that I do what I think I should do instead of listening to my soul and doing what it longs for. Listening deep to our souls isn't easy and honestly I only get hints of what it's trying to tell me every now and again, but I keep listening for the message. I have been a prisoner of others on only 3 occasions that I can think of. First my step father, his immature view on the planet and having run our house like a dictator instilling valuable beliefs (sarcasm here) like "it's my house and if you don't like it there is the door." The second my significant other, believing that people should "act" a certain way instead of just listening to their hearts, I hope this person finds their own voice and stops listening to the parents. Lastly, the loudest, longest lasting, and most important voice has been my own. I have made myself a prisoner of my own thoughts and actions. Believing in my thoughts instead of creating my thoughts and believing in them as a conscious mind. As of October 21, 2014 I choose to manifest my own destiny with positive creative thoughts. I will construct a world the I deserve to be in and that loves me unconditionally. I challenge you to also do the same.