Holding Yourself Lightly

Image by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash

We spend much of our lives building our identities: our careers, our families and friends, our hobbies, our personalities, our reputation, etc.  Psychologists would say that we are individuating.  We are driven to do this, it’s a fundamental growth trajectory of life.

We grow and expand through the years, learning more and more about who we are.  We learn that we are more resilient than we knew. Or we have a quick mind. Or prefer the mountains. Or can whip up an incredible meal in 20 minutes flat.

At some point in this trajectory, though, we can sometimes feel like our lives no longer fit us.

Can it be that we outgrow ourselves??  Is that even a real thing?

Yes.  Actually, that’s the big game of life.  

We come here, again and again, with little or no memory of our Mythic Self.  The veil has to be in place so that we jump fully into our lives here — our great big, crazy, joyful, messy, loving, tender, unpredictable lives.

Throughout this adventure, most people have an inclination that something else is happening in the background. It’s why we walk in deep woods, go to church, meditate, or get readings.  

Even more so, if we’re to explore a spiritual path this lifetime, something inside us gets triggered such that we can’t ignore the questions, nor the tightness. An ever-present discomfort sets in and a new job or a new house isn’t going to do it.

When this happens, we’re being called to go beyond what we think we know about ourselves.  We’re being called to connect inwardly with our higher self, and the Divine, and see what else might be there for us. As us.

We’re being asked to hold ourselves lightly so other aspects of ourselves can come in.

Can you let go of your shoulds, your reputation and your hard-earned identity to see who you are?  Who else you are?