From this moment forward, may we all find the absolute freedom to be ourselves. May we kneel with reverence to our own paths and find ways to allow us to be ourselves.
It’s easy to get swept up in the idea that you are not enough, that what you want isn’t good enough, that who you are isn’t perfect enough and that what you feel won’t be accepted by others. We find ways to conform to the roles that others impose on us and we feel (because others see these roles to be the truth) that these are our own truths.
For example, perhaps you grew up in a house where you were taught that only an unrelenting work ethic will get you to your goals. That you need to sacrifice your sense of well being in order to get what you want. Or perhaps your mother (or father) was constantly being of service to everyone else in her life, but never demonstrated what it was like to receive support or take time for herself. It may leave you wandering into your adult life constantly sacrificing your desires for some greater ‘good’. You may feel that taking time for yourself is selfish and that asking for help is weak.
For me, I grew up feeling like I wasn’t good enough. What I felt and tried to articulate was met with constant resistance and a lack of support. That feeling has continued on with me: I often feel rejected for going through challenges in life, or making career choices that aren’t in line with what (I think) others want of me. In that I have felt unsupported and unheard. I have spent a lot of my life feeling as though I am different or unworthy for wanting approval but not getting it.
When we don’t allow ourselves to be us, then we don’t allow others to be themselves. When we criticize our friends for making choices that we would never make for ourselves, we create isolation and add to the energy or thought patterns that tell people it’s not OK to be themselves or make decisions that best serve them.
I am finally taking ownership over who I am and I am allowing myself to process things the way I need to. I will be quiet, even when it makes other people uncomfortable, if it allows me to work through my stuff. I work on a deeply introspective level; this is what is comfortable for me. I am learning to say what I want. I am learning to honour my process.
I have three questions for you:
1) How do you hold yourself back from being free to be you? Who are you living for and who are you trying to impress?
2) How do you attempt to prevent others from living their lives? How do you judge, manipulate or give feedback in a way that is in contradiction with allowing your friends/family to be themselves?
3) How can you find ways to support someone’s process without imposing your own opinion of how it should look?
I believe if we can recognize the ways in which we limit ourselves and others, we can then develop the capacity to see more clearly. We will become more of who we want to be and less of who we think others want us to be.
So much love
Noelle
P.S I just scheduled a NEW 50 hour Yoga & Life Immersion! See below
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