Have you ever had that moment, when you flashback to your childhood, and wonder how you became the person you are today?
We begin our journey through life, if we are lucky, playing freely with friends and in nature, exploring, imagining, creating and discovering things in the world around us.
We take on roles, playfully, mimicking doctors, nurses, teachers, mums, dads, grandmas.. and then as if by magic, one day, we wake up to find that we are no longer imagining –
NOW, we are playing these roles for real, we become parents, carers, partners, educators, therapists, company directors, entrepreneurs, social activists, politicians etc.
At work and at home the roles we play can easily take us over, to such an extent that we may lose a sense of who we are; I remember this so well when after 17 years of working as managing director of an early years group, we sold the business and I no longer had this role. My children had left home and they were having children of their own and my mother and brother, who I had looked after for many years, died –
I felt quite lost, my roles disappeared and life changed, for a while- it was rather strange.
Who are you without your roles?
It can take quite some time to rediscover ourselves following a major life event or trauma. I often meet people on my travels, who are in transition and are taking an outer journey to rediscover who they are – and then AWARENESS comes, the outer journey becomes an inner journey, because this is where we reside.
In this film, a young woman wakes up to the realisation that she has lost a sense of who she really is and what she really wants in life, she sets out on a journey and discovers an inner peace and love.
I have also, travelled a long journey to discover an inner peace; it has not always been easy, but I finally arrived and like to think of each transition as providing a metamorphic state of transformation, just like the caterpillar moves into a chrysalis and emerges as a moth or butterfly, we too can emerge from each experience or phase of our life, with colourful wings ready to fly and confident in whatever roles you undertake, or don’t undertake!
photograph www.butterflyfarm.com
Whatever you do, wherever you are – showing your true colours, conscious of what matters to you and know why you do what you do is the #secret to happiness.
The Greek philosopher Socrates said: “Know thyself”
The Chilean psychologist, Rolando Toro, creator of Biodanza said:
“My proposal isn’t just knowing thyself, as in the Greek logos, but BE THYSELF! “
The best gift you can give to yourselves is to be fully present with BEING YOU and this is a gift you can offer your children too – letting them know that you are fully present with the beauty of who you are and who they are too.
Here are 3 things you can do to help you feel more confident, peaceful and happy.
- Resolve issues in the past that have had an impact on your esteem, make sense of these. We cannot delete them, but we can transform them so that the emotions that were paired with them are calmed and don’t affect us in the present anymore. –
- Identify the people who love you unconditionally, those you trust and feel safe with – those you can return to if life gets tough and you need some support, the people who will welcome you with open arms – if you don’t know who these people are –FIND SOME NOW –
- Know what you love and reflect on how you enjoy spending your time – What needs are met by doing what you do – is it that you feel a sense of significance, belonging, adventure, fun, creativity? – whatever it is celebrating this!
Imagine all the different ways you could meet these needs – Write a creative list of activities and do them.
Never do anything that isn’t play
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
Who do you want to be when you grow up?
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