I'm going through a period of quietness, not really feeling like doing what I usually do. I'm not resisting, nor am I trying to do less than I want to, because I believe this is helping me become more like "me". Whatever that is.
One might even say it's letting go of busy-ness to discover other parts of me and my interests.
Chris, you are so right.''To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment''. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Someone wrote in my yearbook, during high school graduation in 1951... something I have never forgot: Don't be sharp. Don't be flat. Just be natural. It gave me food for thought!
This post reminds me of one of my favorite quotes that my friend and I were just talking about, "wherever you go, there you are". But who are YOU, really? I too find it fun to try to sort that out. Thanks for this piece!
“Just be yourself” is indeed harder than it sounds!
Having done over 8,000 hours of hard-core Internal Family Systems therapy on myself for the last 23 years, I’ve experienced how true this is.
No matter how much I peel the onion, there’s always another layer.
There are so many deep, culturally ingrained beliefs that are not mine!
Judeo-Christianity, as one example, is profoundly seared into most of Western consciousness.
The guilt and obligation — training wheels of moral development —rarely come off fully in most people’s lives.
Peeling the onion is hard. It creates a widening gap between your consciousness and that of everyone around you.
The deeper you become yourself, the more distance you put between you and everyone else.
That becomes a second level of work you have to do— navigating how to be in the world, but not of it.
I believe there is no end to self discovery. However far you take it, though, it’s always worth it.
“Don’t ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive and do that.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” —Howard Thurman
Oh I do relate to the "peeled onion" analogy! Can we also add "boiled"? 😆
Well done, you 😊💯
Oh Gawd, yes it does, Chris. For me it took leaving the US and incubating in Thailand to "peel" as Melissa said so well. For a little over a year.
Then, I found I had peeled enough. Next step has been getting to know this self and get comfortable with how she rolls.
I like her a helluva lot more than I liked the me that left the US.
Thank you for writing this piece.
I'm going through a period of quietness, not really feeling like doing what I usually do. I'm not resisting, nor am I trying to do less than I want to, because I believe this is helping me become more like "me". Whatever that is.
One might even say it's letting go of busy-ness to discover other parts of me and my interests.
Chris, you are so right.''To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment''. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Someone wrote in my yearbook, during high school graduation in 1951... something I have never forgot: Don't be sharp. Don't be flat. Just be natural. It gave me food for thought!
It absolutely does take time, also lots of journaling and reflection. At almost 57, I still have some way to go...😏
This post reminds me of one of my favorite quotes that my friend and I were just talking about, "wherever you go, there you are". But who are YOU, really? I too find it fun to try to sort that out. Thanks for this piece!