To Thine Own Self Be True

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

-- William Shakespeare

Actually, I am not particularly a big fan of Shakespeare. I think his dramas are tedious and ridiculously inflated examples of the human condition that I can find on a regular basis at home or on the public bus. And, Hamlet, while the surviving characters are definitely ironic, I find this piece particularly overly obnoxious. I do enjoy his comedies and prefer to believe he wrote his poetry for his homosexual lover.

However, in these words I find he expresses, in elegantly simple terms, the need for a person to be themselves. When the entire world has their own expectations, beliefs, and stereotypes, this task seems all the less simple. One must have courage, strength, will, and an unfettering belief in their person that they can display for themselves but for reasons of their own.

I was pleasantly surprised to find my Turquoise bracelet featured in Tracey's Treasury based on some of her favorite pieces by Etsy artists. Please click on the image below until Friday, October 19th to view!

Tracey Allyn Greene is a full time multi-media artist. She works in oils, watercolor, acrylic, on canvas, paper, and even river rocks! She is best known for her pet portraits - especially the freedom she incorporates in her pieces with cats (which she considers her personal muses. I have been lucky enough to see her work in person - and it was definitely even more wonderful than the photo! Please visit her Etsy shop by clicking the image below!