When confronted with the dilemma of truly expressing yourself deeply with the aim of sharing your positive qualities, what is your first reaction?

Mine is to deflect, to ask a question, to giggle, and expertly shy away from the spotlight. It's become quite an art form. Practised and perfected over many decades. Polished and poised, I twist the spotlight back to you. That's where I feel myself grow comfortable. That's where I hide. Hidden in plain sight.

Chameleon-like I change to suit the situation and blend into the masqued ball of life. It is, in my mind, not a negative attribute but rather a power of sublime magnitude. The wisps of the projection seen by others are but the surface layer of the depths that lie below. For most, this is all that they will ever see.

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When I entered this virtual space (again), I found that there had been a decluttering of things that no longer fit. A new home had been built on the foundations of a previous one. A fork had been reached and something new but not new had developed. And in this new-not-new space, I recovered my wonder. It is this, more than anything, that expresses who I am and why I love it here.

This is my post, that speaks to @snook's, The Positive Unlazy Contest, and @dreemsteem's, A Difficult but Worthy Task. Week 3 Begins!

Imagine, if you will, a clever seamstress standing in the wings watching the players shine brightly, centre-stage and upfront, with a warm and gentle smile. She is there backstage, content and happy knowing she has played her part.

Or perhaps, you can see her in the hub of a small group of friends laughing and joking, eyes twinkling because there is a delicious comfort between them. In this, she can allow the spotlight to drop on her and hold it a little while like a hot potato before she passes it on to someone else.

Sometimes, she has eyes just for one whose soul needs a little coaxing to move forward and reach their potential. She is encouraging and gentle. Her patience is endless, or so she's told. She has a way of understanding and removing any fear they hold layer by layer until they unfold like a rose.

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But sometimes, when she is not careful, people can judge her good intentions and add the constraints of a tiny, almost innocuous word, and say she is TOO nice and use it like a battering ram to make her retreat and seek sanctuary. Back she goes, into the realms of her imagination until she is ready again to venture out to play. Who she will be this time, who can say.

I am

<sup>Thank you @dreemsteem

Thank you @dreemport</sup>