To thine own heart be true. What do you think that means? It means to listen to your heart more than you listen to what comes in from outside. It is good to believe in yourself as much or more than you believe in everyone and everything else. All the history in the world has nothing to do with you. All the predictions in the world have nothing to do with you. All the knowledge and all the curiosity have nothing to do with you. You have to do with you. Know thyself. Know your own heart.

What the world calls happiness may not be your happiness at all.

It is okay to be who you are. It is more than okay. It’s a necessity. And it is spectacular to be the individual you are as well as the collective Being.

You went along with the world because you thought it knew more than you. Maybe it did, but it didn’t know you. The world hardly gives you a glance, so how would it know the beat of your heart? The world lumps everyone together, and it would make you line up for whatever it suggests today. Probably to buy something.

It is always an idea that you buy. It is not the product that you buy. It is an idea. The world would magnetize you to its store. The world is a shopping mall of ideas. And the world sells you a bill of goods. Seldom does it deliver on its promises. Guarantees? Do all the ideas fulfill themselves? Do all the rebates arrive?

You’ve got the picture.

Time now to trust yourself more than the world. It is not a question of who is right. It is not a question of the commerce of the world. It is a question of what gives you happiness. It is a question of what happiness you give.

You are seeking your identity. Seek it not from the world. The world doesn’t know who you are. But you know who you are. You have tried so many things that are not you. Do not blame the world for what you were attracted to. You tried on many shoes, and Cinderella’s slipper was not among them. That’s okay.

But now you are on a new plane of existence. Now your question isn’t: “What are the ingredients in this package I buy?” Now your question is: “What am I made of?” That question reads: “Who am I? Am I even at all? Who do I think I am?” The question is not: “What does the world think of me?”

Beloveds, the world does not live your life for you. This life in this lifetime is yours. Certainly, you are practicing for life. What else can you do? And then one day you will get the show on the road. You will be driving the car of life, and you will find your way.

You will not look for approval. Whether the world approves or approves not is irrelevant. Who would accomplish anything wonderful when they listen to the world? For the world would tell you No. The world might even scoff at you. The world did scoff at all the great ones, at least until their innovations and fame became known, and sometimes even after. But what matters the world’s approval before or after? What has the world to do with you when you hear My heart beating within yours?