While taking an exercise class on campus, I've been working hard to maintain a healthy eating/ living style for myself. It wasn't until my husband said in a conversation, "Oh Ashley, it' just a silly fad your going through" that made me stop and think about his words. Yes, I was loving my new found healthy routine, but No, I didn't want it to become like a pair of tried and used jeans that get thrown out in the end. No, I wanted this and many other habits I had to be permanent always. I didn't want to be some facade of a person who only pretended to be one way in front of others, but entirely different behind closed doors. I then remembered one of my newly found favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis,
"Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. "
This is the inspiration to this blog, the why behind my writings. I don't want to hide behind a facade of what I would "like" the world to see me as, NO, THIS IS ME! I'm not going to sugar coat myself to make me more appealing. I have made up my mind to be "Off Guard". Now I don't mean by living dangerously, but rather, I want to be that same person through and through. Their isn't enough personal integrity in this world, which is a trait in desperate need. One of my favorite fictional hero's is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking Bird. After an angry mob come to attack the court house and Atticus resorts to using his words rather than fists, Scout (his daughter) asks why he didn't fight back. In reply to this, Atticus teaches her that he is the same person in regardless the situation and that he wont lower his standards to satisfy other people.
So this blog is dedicated to living Off Guard, to taking off our masks and letting the world see us for who we really are and stand up for truth and righteousness. It is our fear of being wonderful that disables us, as we dare to break free we can liberate others to do the same (taken from "Our Greatest Fear") So welcome to my blog, and I hope you enjoy it.
