Work out your own salvation

I've spent most of my life under the spell of dominant people and since two of them were my parents, I learned from a very early age to just go with the flow of it. I grew up without a strong sense of who I was because I was alway trying to pattern myself on someone else's idea of who I should be, only to push against it when it didn't fit. I think this is pretty common especially when you are always being told who NOT to be, rather than encouraged to find out for yourself who you actually WANT to be. It can be seductive to fall into the trap of relying on other people for emotional support and guidance, but it pays to remember in the end that ultimately we are all on our own, and we are much more attractive and secure when we learn to take emotional responsibility for ourselves. Those people who tell us who we should be and prop us up will not be around forever, and what then?

I particularly like this rose, I took the picture a couple of days ago. The bloom is light and delicate, beguilingly beautiful, but unlike many heavy headed blooms, it's strong in the stem and stands up proud and sure of itself.