To be a lotus when the world wants magnolias

Happiness and confidence 
Lies in true acceptance.
I come alive
and feel at peace,
No longer adhering to
Or following a
Well-worn, grooved path.
The easy way that is
already before me
with clear checkpoints and
crossing the list off as I go.

Is there room for happiness and joy
in a path that is not
authentically mine?

Can I be my true self,
Accepting the
Beautiful and the ugly?
The whole instead of just the
Presentable parts?

I embody confidence
And I don’t waver.
I won’t lose myself
in the struggle to
attain others’ approval
or acceptance.
It is like Dorothy in Oz.
The power to go home
(or accept myself)
was inside me all along.

This path is not always easy:
To be a lotus when the 
world says magnolias
are all the rage right now.

My joy and
My happiness
Cannot be swayed to placate
And follow the ever-changing
Whims of the day.