Be
You
“Unraveling
external selves and coming home to our real identity is the true
meaning of soul work.”
Sue Monk
Kidd
Here is a story from
cultural anthropologist, Angeles Arrien: “One day a woman found
herself at Heaven's gate. The angels' only question to her was,
'Zusai, why weren't you Zusai?' Within that simple question lies the
heart of all our soul work. If you are David, why aren't you fully
David? If your are Susan, why aren't you fully Susan? We are here to
become who we are meant to be.”
Finding out who we were
meant to be, and being that, isn't part of our work—it is ALL of
our work. Some of us come to the quest early, and some of us never
come to it at all. There are so many distractions, so many smoke
screens thrown up to cloak and cloud the issue. Some of us are afraid
of the responsibility that comes with being who we are in our
fullness. Some are afraid of being seen for who we truly are because
we might be rejected by people we care about. To be sure, fear in all
its forms is the road block to being fully ourselves.
And, discovering one's
true self isn't easy; it's work—it's soul work. It doesn't consist
of adding identities, but in paring down. I am not mother, I am not
father, I am not child, I am not my academic degrees, I am not my
occupation, I am not my religion, I am not my political affiliation,
I am not my expertise. Those are roles that I play, and I'm proud to
play them, but down at the essence of me, the essential self—who is
that?
In the words of
philosopher, Dallas Willard, “You are an unceasing spiritual being
with an eternity in God's great universe. That's the most important
thing for you to know about you...Your soul is not just something
that lives on after you die. It's the most important thing about you.
It is your life.” Wouldn't it be a good idea to spend whatever time
it takes to figure out what it means to be you?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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