How
Did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its
Beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its
Being,
Otherwise,
We all remain
Too
Frightened.
- Hafiz (Sufi poet, “It Felt Love”)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the courage it takes to express our true selves. It’s something I’ve struggled with most of my life. I grew up in an environment, a society, all too ready to tell me who I was, who I should be. So many of us do. There’s no shortage of people with strong opinions, no shortage of advice on how to live our lives, no shortage of other people’s lives to emulate.
It takes a great deal of courage to turn aside from well-traveled paths, to listen deep in our hearts to our own inherent beauty. To trust that gut wisdom that nudges (or sometimes kicks) us off the path we’re on, that asks us to stretch beyond our comfort zone, to believe in our own unique worth apart from others’ opinions.
What is it that makes you yourself?
What do you love passionately above everything else?
What makes you sing and dance (even if only inside) with the sheer beauty of it?
What inside you wants to be expressed?
Whatever it is, go do it, go live it, go express it. Even if the idea of doing so terrifies you. Even if you feel like doing so would be jumping off a ledge with no wings and no one to catch you.
Go.
The world needs your particular kind of beauty.
What a wonderful reminder that we all need to celebrate what makes us uniquely us! There is great beauty in our differences.
amen.
Love this! Couldn’t have come at a better time, either. Thanks Amber!!
I often feel stuck by too much passion for too many things. I don’t have one direction run in and end up turning circles. Perhaps it’s time to pick one thing, go, and see where it takes me. This is a beautiful post, thank you!
I understand what you’re saying. I’m an ‘enthusiast’ too. I think, at this point in my life, I view it more as allowing that underlying aspect of myself to be present in the things I choose to do with my time. It’s not so much a picking one thing over another, but rather an essential nature, a way of being, that pervades what I do. At least for me, it’s like that.
This really resonated with me. I often think I am fickle moving all about between so many interests in passions. Instead I can view it as bringing that enthusiasm to my whole life.
YES!!! Totally agree.
thanks for the reminder amber, super lovely post. x