Me, In a Nutshell (May Photos, Day 30)

 

As I think I might’ve mentioned before, I haven’t really been reading ahead in the prompt list for the daily photo challenge.  I mean, I read the whole thing, of course, but I didn’t really study it and make a plan.  So it is that I was a little surprised by today’s theme—“your personality”. 

Really?  I’m supposed to encapsulate my personality in a single picture?  That seemed pretty daunting.  I mean, forget just capturing my natural essence in a photo . . . first I have to decide what that essence is.

So, I thought and thought. (Actually, now that it comes up, it seems I’ve done a lot of thinking during this challenge.  hmm.)  Like most folks, I’m multi-faceted.  I like to think I’m kind, funny, open, and honest.  But I can also be cranky, picky, and withdrawn.  And what about my love for TV, music, writing, photography?  And being a huge Star Trek fan; that’s part of my personality, too, right?  How to choose what to immortalize?  And how to actually get it done?  Clearly, more thinking was called for.

But, eventually, it all started to make some sense.  And, honestly, it turns out being a Trek fan is a bigger part of me than I might’ve thought.  Because that’s the same part of my personality that makes me hopeful for the future; that makes me believe that human kind will find a way to get past all of our petty bickering and work together for the common good.  It’s the part that makes me think that the simplest way to get along with others is to live by the Golden Rule . . . and the part that gets hurt every time I realize not everyone will do that. 

It seems that the biggest part of my personality is the part that says the very best thing in the world is the ability to love others, to try and make kindness my stock in trade (and to find forgiveness on those occasions when kindness slips away), and to remain optimistic about the world we live in. 

As I said, I’m multi-faceted, so even the basic goodness with which I try to live my life isn’t all encompassing, but if that was all that a stranger knew about me, I think that would be enough.

What about you?  What aspect of your personality would you like others to judge you by?

^{As the song says, I’m a lover, not a fighter.}