How many of us spend most of our precious life self-sabotaging and self-denying our most authentic selves?
How often do you hide from your deepest desires or suppress and stuff away beautiful parts of your being?
All too frequently, we deny ourselves and edit our stories to make ourselves sound more put together than we may feel – we sugarcoat or blatantly leave out parts of who we are due to shame or feeling like who we are is not good enough. We ignore and tuck away the parts of ourselves that, if brought into the light with love, make us powerful and radiant. Our stories make us who we are, but we often forget that the story is still unfolding. We let our pasts, fears, hurts, and pains have power over us by believing that they are the whole story rather than recognizing them for that they are – small parts in a long saga of beautiful ups and downs. What has happened and what is currently happening do not have to define what happens next and how the story ends.
The best stories always have twists and turns. We need to honor all the pieces of who we are and where we come from because each piece adds beauty, depth, and meaning to the narrative shaping our present reality. Denying ourselves or removing narrative elements does not make anything go away. On the contrary, it often does the opposite – by stuffing our wounds deeper into our being and sugarcoating our struggles, the pain and shame get lodged and shrouded in darkness, muddled by the other shit we buried nearby.
You take back ownership over your unfolding by turning inward, shining light within yourself, and owning all of who you are. We must learn to honor and share even the dark, painful, and messy parts of who we are because that is what ultimately brings our light into the world.
