“To Thine Own Self Be True”: The Bruce Jenner Saga

By Sandy Daley

The great Buddha once said, “You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your affection and love.”

Wiser words could never have been written: and this was the quote that popped into my mind as I watched that intense, mind-blowing interview with Bruce Jenner last Friday night.

“So what do you consider yourself to be Bruce?” Diane Sawyer asked at one point. “Are you attracted to women or to men?” “Have you ever had a relationship before with a man?” she asked point blank. To which Jenner requested that he be considered to be ‘asexual.’ Asexual?

It hit me during, and at the end of the interview that Bruce Jenner was a lost soul, seemingly without love for himself, and therefore at the end of the day is now more confused than ever.

Far be it from me to judge, because at the day of each individual’s calling, we each must answer to God, and so therefore my personal beliefs, or inclinations should not come into play at this time: but I must say that my heart went out to him, as I watched the interview in its entirety in those two long, very gruelling hours.

As children, we are taught to love ourselves, to honour our own wishes, to go after what our hearts desire: poor Bruce in my opinion did not have a chance to do so.

Now, at a much older age, he is finally allowing himself to do such and the tears that rolled down his face at the beginning of the interview, showed us how deeply he was hurting inside.

Not only had he not allow himself to put himself first, but also he did not love himself throughout the years.

Yes, many of us might be skeptical about the timing, and that perhaps he was doing this to garner more ratings for his reality show (I must admit that at first, I was also a bit cynical about the entire interview), but after watching his pain so evidently displayed for millions to see, I am big enough to say that I now truly believe that this move came straight from the heart.

The relief on his face was so obvious and he would certainly deserve an Oscar if this was all a fake: another fake reality.

Kudos to him for coming forward with such a heart-wrenching story!  Before we all pass judgement, let us all look within our souls and ask what secrets do we all have in our closets. Could you tell the world all the things or even some of the things in your past, things that might even still be in your present?

I can honestly say that there are certain things that I will never and can never utter, as not only do I not have the guts to do so, but I am also too scared to deal with the ramifications as well. Many things have been pushed under the rug in order for me to go on with my daily life, and there they will remain.

As Buddha said, I deserve my love and affection, and with that being said, it is with nothing but love that I carry on. Bruce Jenner, no matter what our personal beliefs are, also deserve to love and care for himself.

I truly believe that with him finally being able to love himself, he in turn might help save numerous young lives, struggling with gender issues and gender identity.

We are all given a purpose in life, and this might be his true purpose. Forget the Olympic medals, the commercials and the cereal box spots. This is what his legacy might come down to at the end of the day.

It is funny when you think about it: Kim Kardashian’s rear was beaten out in TV land by Bruce Jenner’s Adam’s apple! Who woulda thunkit?

Sandy Daley is a columnist, radio and television personality and actress. She is also the author of “Whose Vagina Is It, Really?” She can be contacted at: Website: www.sandydaley.com, Facebook: womanincontrol@facebook.com, Twitter: twitter.com/whosevaginaisit and/or Email:thesinglegirlspot@gmail.com.