Finding the power to love ourselves enough to speak and share

We don’t speak. Why is that?

We sweep everything under the rug, we mask our feelings and we conceal who we really are. Why is that? What sparked this thought in my mind was a poem I heard this past weekend. How we are a world that chooses not to express or acknowledge but to go along living ACTING as if we are oblivious to everything.

After pondering over this I decided to look at myself, because to understand human nature we can only begin by analysing that which we know most accurately which is: Self. I am an introvert, and have always been one. However, I am more of an introvert now than when I was say, 5 years ago. What changed this? Simply put betrayal and let-downs cause us to plunge into a safety net which is “distance”. We distance ourselves. I know that that is exactly why I have become more of an “inward” person. There is something terrible that happens when people betray you but more vicious when people who you brought into the most inner caves of your heart and life turn around and slice through your soul leaving painful gashes that refuse to heal. Immediately then, one builds up walls and we step into a state of survival. That is how simple nature is; from Darwin’s Theory of “natural selection” we see that it is an integral seed buried in all of us. We simply want to survive and will adopt whatever mechanisms seem most effective for this.

And yet, what makes it tougher is that people will try and dig you out of your safety because they feel like they are losing you or they do not know you enough. Truth is we do not talk because our words fall on ears that are plastered with ignorance and selfish motives most of the time. I know I’m not the only one that has heard the saying: “Do not tell people your problems. 80% are curious and 20% are glad you have them”. I might be a few words off but the idea is essentially the same. I am not a cynic and I totally love life and people but we simply cannot ignore reality. One could say then, that I am a realist with high hopes. How then do we move from a state of fear into a state of being comfortable enough to be who we are with no inhibitions?

The first problem of being a selfish and judgemental people is that we do not even love and appreciate ourselves. We are unhappy with who we are and so fearful of what we could or could not become that we let this filter into how we treat others. And so, we wait to spot a weakness in the next person so we may maximise on it and ignore our own insecurities. If we can accept ourselves, faults and all, we can accept the next person and celebrate their strengths without feeling in danger of being outshone. The second problem that we simply must overcome is that living a life that is fenced with thick brick walls and electric fencing will not only shut out the world but it will shut out our potential as well. Pain and disappointment are inevitable factors of life and whether you hide behind a boulder or live freely or carelessly, you will go through it. So then, we need to embrace failure and learn from pain, emerging though, as wiser and stronger creatures that can overcome even greater obstacles. Emerging as a person who knows himself/herself better. I too, am on this journey of regeneration and growth, so let’s all try a bit harder.

If we can first love, accept and know who we are; Loving, accepting and knowing the next person can be that easier.

Let’s have a great week! J

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Find and love yourself, flaws and all.

QUOTE: “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it” – Thucydides (Greek Historian & Author)