Today I will pass along with you one of these lessons, the big one, a very hard lesson for me to learn and share. But, truly one of the most important lessons I have ever learned about myself. Bits and pieces of the big picture have revealed themselves to me over the past few years but that "AH HA" moment came just recently and I must say it came with great relief! Apparently I have been using a lot of energy looking for myself in the eyes of other people. Listening to what they have to say about me and believing these words to be truth. From the words of others, over the course of my life, I have changed my behavior or fashioned myself in such a way to fit this IDEA of who I am. This stems from a lack of trust in myself, as well as a lack of confidence in who I am. Through a lot of self reflection I realized there are moments in my life where I allowed this to happen and moments in my life where I felt stronger and ultimately more self-aware that I did not follow that path.
To add a layer to this, there are definitely people in my life, and yours as well, who DO see us exactly as we are, unconditionally supporting and loving us. The question is, how do we decipher the difference between those with pure intentions from those without? The only answer I can come up with, at this point, is it doesn't really matter right now. What matters is learning who we are without the influence of others. Learning who we are will help us sever the existing relationships (and not create new relationships) that don't lift us up leaving only the pure of heart by our sides.
I love the quote from C.G. Jung, "Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens." This quote has returned to me a number of times over the last several years. These past weeks I am reminded of it daily. You see, we all get "stuck" in our own dysfunctional patterns of behavior. The task of changing them seems daunting. I know with each realization I have, my mind literally says "oh crap!" There is this inner sigh and moment of pause but ultimately the forward movement away from the behavior is liberating.
Keep up the good work! Message me on Facebook or email me at liveurdharma@gmail.com. I want to hear your story.
Much love to all of you in this new year. May your path of self study be filled with light and hope.
Namaste my dear friends,
Colleen
Inspirational Thought/Tidbits for and about Life
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