The Clearance Rack

I read a post on Face Book yesterday that really has me doing some soul searching.  The post was about how we mark ourselves down and put ourselves on the clearance rack.  How we cheapen and devalue ourselves, we mark ourselves down and put ourselves on a rack at that back of the store with a big sign that says we are reduced for a quick sale.  We are telling the world that we are not worth what we once were and that we are really outdated and must be sold quickly to make room for the newer more modern.

 I had put myself on the Clearance Rack. I marked myself down whenever someone would say something unkind to me.  I marked myself down even further when I would gain weight.  I would mark myself down every time I perceived myself as failing at something or not living up to someone else’s expectations.  Eventually I had placed myself on the Final Clearance Rack.  Not only had I been reduced but I had placed myself at the farthest corner in the back of the store where only the serious bargain hunters go, looking for the items no one else wants and that is pretty much a giveaway. 

I have taken myself off of the Clearance Rack.  I have dusted myself off, straightened myself out and redone the packaging.  I am still the same person I was before but with the new packaging I no longer look like I need to be marked down and sold at a discount.  I have moved myself up to the front of the store and put myself in a Display Case where only the finest and most expensive items are put so that the discerning shopper may look at their beauty and inquire about what it would take to get the item. 

 I am still the same person I have always been the only difference is the packaging is different now.  Yes with this new packaging and a spot in the front of the store I will market myself differently and not sell myself short any longer.  I have removed the Clearance Rack from my life because I refuse to put myself or anyone else back on it again.