What does this mean? Get back to your ‘true nature’, I want to know who I’m supposed to be… the authentic me.
During meditation this morning, this thought came to me. I recently read something that talked about how we are born being exactly who we are meant to be, and how our parents, our culture, rules in society, slowly shape us into what they want for us, as it etches away at who we really are and are supposed to be in this life. The sadness as adults comes when we start to realize that this isn’t really ‘me’… or that this isn’t how I want to live my life. Why am I living like this? And then the pain ensues when and if one has the courage to push past the fears of truly being oneself. A shedding of sorts starts to happen: the getting rid of long held beliefs about oneself, others, how things ‘should’ be done, etc. As one starts to peel back the layers of falsehood, a feeling of liberation takes hold. A notion that ‘this is exactly how I’m supposed to be’ is realized.
Wow, so great right? So why don’t more people do this? What can be hard about being who you really are? Realizing your true nature? Here’s where it gets tricky… all those people in your life (your parents, your spouse, your kids, extended family, friends), well, they have come to rely on your inauthentic self–not your ‘true self.’ And those friends and family DO NOT LIKE CHANGE… not in the least! It is scary and disarming and you are ‘breaking the rules’ for how to be in this world… in their world. What happens next? You get scared: ‘what am I doing rocking this whole boat? I have a good life, I should be happier, what’s wrong with me?’ You pull back on the changes and try to settle back in to inauthentic you again, maybe with a ‘twist’ of the real you. You start creating new friendships with people that are more in alignment with your true self, you say ‘no’ to offers and invites that don’t feel right to you. You take baby-steps towards living your authentic life… and you don’t go back to living with eyes-closed any more. You live more fully awake, as you know you MUST continue on this path of honoring who you are really meant to be in this life. You realize that you aren’t here to live small, but to be your fullest potential of a human being, because the consequences of NOT being this is far to great to your soul, and to humanity itself.
