I have come to realise that growing older doesn’t automatically result in growing into who you are meant to be. We’re so distracted by the world around us that often we don’t even realise that we’re on autopilot. How often do we pause to reflect on Who am I? That is a very deep question with various layers, some of which are incredibly philosophical and deep. In today’s blog I want to focus on the most superficial layer of this question which is referring to how we are in the world. The adults that are walking around chasing god knows what for some unknown purpose. Who are we?
Somehow we’ve managed to create a culture that gives us a false sense of purpose as we go through the various seasons of life chasing what is ultimately the ‘expectation’ for that stage. Whether it be academic success, career success, establishing a family, having your own home, perhaps excelling in your hobbies and or social circles etc. These are all great and have value in their own right. But they’re pre-defined and they’re based on the views of what we socially and culturally have designed. For the most part, most of us download the definitions of identity, success, achievement, progress, wealth, success, good etc. and don’t really question if those definitions are WHO and HOW we want to be. Where do these definitions and ideas come from and what do they actually mean to us? Is it where we will find our sense of joy? Is it how we will fulfil our potential? What is it that we’re saying yes to? Who are these adults that we are growing into? Are we becoming ourselves or are we falling into the moulds that have been created for us?
I’m starting to recognise that it’s so easy to fall into an autopilot way of living, distracted with the glitz and glamour of the world and the basic needs that we have. But what about healing our hearts and cleansing our minds? What about finding our potential? What about the quality of all the non-material aspects of our lives that we neglect? Yes we are the products of our environment and our genetics, but as adults we also have the opportunity to choose what bits of ourselves we want to retain and what bits we want to let go of. Whilst this takes a lot of work and effort, should we choose, we can redesign ourselves and rewire our brains.
This doesn’t have to mean completely changing ourselves rather it’s about knowing who we authentically are based on conscious decisions of how we want to be. What ideas, thoughts, perspectives and beliefs are we choosing to live our lives with? What values are we paying attention to and are these our personal values or that of others that we’ve absorbed? Is it our personal story that we’re crafting or that of our parents, friends, partners and society? These are all questions that we need to explore in order to determine if we are living a conscious life or if we are living a distracted one.
When you start paying attention to these types of questions you start to recognise there are parts of you that you’ve neglected and or boxed away. When life forced me to unpack these boxes I came to recognise that there is so much healing that I need to do, so much cleansing and so much clearing. The journey of Self-discovery is a journey of curiosity and has many layers to it. But there is another important journey that we need to pay attention and that is the journey of Self-recovery. Examining the pain, wounds, grief, loss and limiting beliefs that has been formed within us over the years without us often even noticing. Only from there can you pick up the pieces of yourself that you have lost or hidden. Only from there can you truly heal and recover.
On the journey of Self-recovery you have the opportunity to examine each of your beliefs and reframe them the way in a way that will serve you. Upgrading your beliefs to the version of yourself that you are now and or desire to be. The version of you that knows that you can and will fulfil your full potential if you stick at it.
This journey is cyclical, the more you recover the more you discover and vice versa. Pay attention to your journey, to yourself, to your thoughts and to your experiences. Be here with yourself so that you can embrace life through all its ups and downs. Be here with yourself, your true authentic self that you’re yet to fully meet.
Be Here.
Love Always,
M
Souloom™ 