Today is National Be Someone Day, and was thinking about the person I am and wondering whether she is who I had imagined I’d be—and of course, also think about how I can be better. For example, can I be more forgiving toward the people who mistreat me? Can I not get frustrated with a couple of colleagues who, well, frustrate me with their tendency to think inside the box, especially when part of your role is to innovate? I’m on the mailing list of Neale Donald Walsch and received an email yesterday with the subject line “Who Are You?” An excerpt from the newsletter:

In every moment of every day, you are presented with opportunities to show yourself, those around you, and God, who you truly are.

From the seemingly inconsequential decisions you must make each day, to the various challenges that arise in your life—both large and small—these are your opportunities to better know yourself and let others know you through your actions.

I interact with a lot of people on a regular basis, and in general I like the people I come across. I can even usually cope with the frustrating ones. In their frustrating actions I see my own, so it’s good to be reminded about my own annoying tendencies. All in all, I have no complaints with the people in my life. I believe we encounter those whom we most need for whatever reason, even the nasty ones. Those edge cases, the ones that challenge us, are the ones that offer the most potential for growth. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

And so, when the mother of my stepson reaches out to me, frustrated with him, I have to remember it’s easy for me to respond with a “solution,” which is usually based on tough love. What would I do if I were in her shoes? In my stepson’s shoes? Who do I want to be in their lives? How can I show up for both of them without taking sides but firmly supporting what’s right? Things to ponder.

I picked more garden veg tonight and whipped up a ratatouille of sorts: onions, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers, all from the garden. I also decided that if Mama Bird isn’t coming back to sit on her eggs in the bird house that had to come down from the neighbor’s weekend landscraping (no, that isn’t a typo), I was going to set them out for snakes or frogs or whatever other creature can make use of them. They will be gone, or at least broken open, in the morning. Which I guess is an apt metaphor for this post: You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs. You can’t make a person without cracking yourself open to let the light in and the darkness out.

If anyone reading this is interested, log onto YouTube at 3 PM, US Eastern time tomorrow (Thursday), and listen to a live interview of my on Boomers on Books.