A few weeks ago I posted a quote by e.e. cummings that said, “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everyone else is to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”  That quote continues to speak deeply to me. It is based upon my own desire to be true to myself even though I really want to be accepted and yes, loved, by everyone else.  And I’m guessing that many of us are feeling that contradiction in these times—whether that be related to politics, COVID, systemic racism, income equality, or others. Fortunately, one of the answers to that predicament came to me this week around the topic of conformity.  When is conformity a good thing, and when is conformity a jail cell that we are in without remembering the door isn’t even locked? When does conformity keep us safe, and when is it holding us back? [Read more…]