Our whole purpose in this moment— and in life, (simply being a string of moments strung together over years), is to simply say yes to life. Say yes to what life is requesting of you and yes to what the human experience is presenting. Both blessing and loss are contained in the above. Saying yes to your gifts and special talents, and accepting life when it is not only less than your ideal but when it is fucking devastating and tragic. Accepting what is with grace. With no why me or victim mentality. To quietly be ok with whatever is. The Divine Within, has an understanding, even an appreciation,(however deep that may be), that this Earth School has lessons for your Soul that can not be bypassed.
In the background of our resistance to certain events, circumstances, and situations, there is an inner knowing that life is always happening for us and forging our Souls with every heartbreak and joy. Like the blooming flower or a singing bird, there is in us and our humanness an imperative to thrive and offer our own brand of beauty and magnificence to the planet. It is in our nature and DNA to be all that we were created capable of being, complete with all of our unique passions, and talents.
Somewhere along the line, for many of us, we lose ourSelves and our true nature. Whether it be the challenges of life, the banality of the day to day existence, or the distractions of modernity (including but not limited to: electricity, the internet, and busy-disease), something has caused us to feel removed and separate from nature. We believe we are different than nature. Because of this, we no longer trust our own natural cycles of dying, birth and re-birth. David Whyte says it best, “We are the only species that can refuse our own flowering”.
Unlike the flower that just blooms and fulfills the measure of its creation effortlessly and with no self-doubt, we look at our talents and we judge them as not good enough, and ask, “Who am I to be, do or have x?” We may also realize that we have to die to what no longer serves our highest good and is no longer genuine, in order to birth a more authentic life that awaits us. It can be terrifying. We may allow the lower emotions of shame, guilt, insecurity, fear and grief to creep in and paralyze us.
We are afraid of what we may have to go through to fulfill our destiny, we get scared and flat out refuse our soul’s request. And that refusal haunts us. Deep down, we know it is our destiny. We know if we don’t follow the path of our heart, we will leave this world hating ourselves and being disappointed that we lacked the courage to do the thing we were born to do. How many lifetimes have we chosen to play a small game? How many more will you choose to do the same?
I think that now more than ever, people are starting to wake up and desire more meaning and significance for their lives. They are feeling the gaping hole in their soul of a life unlived and embraced. Some are also feeling the hollowness of living a life to please others, i.e. parents, partners, children, church, community, etc. So much so, that you don’t even know who you are anymore.
It’s time for a rescue mission. Time to plunge the depths of what is authentically true for you. What lights you up and what makes your heart smile? Time to dust off those dreams and talents and emerge with a new commitment to yourSelf and your Soul. Erin Hanson said, “There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask "What if I fall?” Oh but my darling, What if you fly?”
Mary Williamson asked In "A Return to Love" "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
She says that “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others.”
When we free ourSelves from our own fears and start living a life of full expression, people around us are inspired and feel liberated to do the same.
In these words, we can hear a solution to our own refusal and smallness, and that is saying a big fat yes to life. We remember and realize that the gifts that we are born with are certainly not ours to horde. We get to stop being greedy with our magnificence. Stop refusing your own flowering. Allow yourself to unfold. Trust and have patience with the process. Allow your Light to shine brightly. Share your gift unabashedly. Find the compassion and courage necessary to be the you you were created capable of being and just say yes to what life is requesting of you.
“And the day (has come) when the risk to remain tight in a bud (is now) more painful than the risk it (takes) to blossom. “(Slightly paraphrased from Anais Nin). Now is the time. “What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?” (Mary Oliver) Just say yes beautiful peeps, and Shine On, Shine On!!
