Be careful who you follow

Lately I have been checking out the people whom I believed at one time or other to be worthy of my following.

As I have changed and grown so have these people. Some of them have grown right out of my life, which is not always a bad thing.

I have asked myself some simple questions such as, is this person dependable of does he/she come and go like a puff of smoke from a chimney? Does this person follow through with promises made or does he/she disregard them as null and void as soon as they are spoken? Does the person make every effort to encourage and help promote others or is he/she more concerned with his/her own self worth?

Honestly addressing these questions makes it clear to me why some people are no longer in my life. They have simply proved over time that they were not who I originally thought them to be. Honesty and dependability are number one qualities that I require both for myself and those close to me.

We all have role models, people we look up to and desire to emulate. That's just fine as long as in the process we don't forget the fact that we are not them.

One of my first role models was my maternal grandmother. I believe I ended up being a lot like her, which always made my mother cringe. Nana was an ordinary woman, with honest values and a giving heart. When she saw something that needed doing she didn't ask questions, she just jumped in and did it. She taught me by example to value my creative gifts and to freely give them away to those who needed them. She taught me to appreciate the natural beauty of things. She taught me to strive for perfection in the way I presented myself to the rest of the world, being mindful not to become egotistical. She taught me to acknowledge a high power and to always be grateful for what I have.

As I think of my grandmother today I am thankful to have been one she chose to teach. If it were not for following her honest values my life could have gone in an entirely different direction.