Do Not Hide Who You Are.
"Like many of us, I seem to be continually challenged not to hide who I am". Mark Nepo
We are all given attributes by others. When I was younger I remember my father losing a pair of keys. I'm quite sure he had asked me if I had them. I'm quite sure I said I didn't know. I'm even more sure that when he found them in my room I had no recollection of taking them.
From this moment, I was never trusted with keys. Should one go missing, I was undoubtedly the culprit. My child's mind concluded one simple thing - I was not to be trusted and worse, I could not trust myself.
I lived out this story for many years of my life; always looking for someone to confirm what I already knew, or validate parts of me I already valued. I would avoid doing anything by myself for fear of creating the 'wrong' outcome. I would hide who I am again and again for fear of what it meant to trust my thoughts, my feelings, what I knew to be true.
And then, one day, contemplating with my coach the life I wished to live, I made the stark realisation that in order for my life to play out the way I so deeply wished it would I needed to do one thing; I needed to trust myself, to accept the challenge not to hide who I am.
So I listened, I let go of the story I'd held so tightly to and I tried to trust myself; I trusted my opinion, my offering, my worth, my feelings; I began showing myself to the world and before long I felt a shift. I do in fact know myself. Not as I have been told I am, but who I truly know myself to be.
When we arrive on our mat, on our meditation cushion, or even in a moment of contemplation we have the opportunity to dismantle the stories that we, and others, have been telling ourselves for so long. We create the space for deep realisation and have course to begin to honour the inner guide and most importantly cultivate the vulnerability to follow it.
This week I'm inviting you to create this space.
Sit quietly and contemplate what roles other people have given you.
Breathe slowly and consider how they are playing out in your life.
Breathe deeply and consider what it would be like to let them go.
Breathe calmly and accept the challenge to be exactly who you are.
Always with love, Katie xx