I’m trying something new with this column; my goal is to inspire people to line up intentions for their weeks and then reflect on how they achieved those intentions. It’s part of growth and conscious living, so why not hold each other accountable? 🙂 The only way to have a truly satisfying life, in my opinion, is to live authentically. We have to speak our truths. We have to do the things that make us warm and fuzzy. And we have to connect with people who love us exactly as we are.
Early last week, I saw a beautiful post by one of my first yoga instructors, Octavia Raheem. Here’s an excerpt:
“Could just be me, but in my yoga practices both as a student and teacher, seems like just when I start to settle in, find a groove
Here comes- change.
I remember the first time I stopped feeling resonance with one of my favorite teachers
When I started to feel misplaced at one of my favorite studios.
I’ll call it grace that I didn’t think it was “them”; I realized that something within me was changing.
This shift has happened for me a few times, as I learn, grow, study, practice, teach, reflect, and integrate new understandings, access old wisdom, and gain clarity around my purpose— As I engage in the process of both being and becoming
Each time it’s been quite frightening. The change.
Each time I’ve gripped tightly and initially resisted. The change.
I started out as a power+ hot vinyasa student and teacher (exclusively… like that is all I practiced and taught for years)
As I’ve shifted and changed. As I’ve been shifted and changed, I’ve fretted that I appear inconsistent.
What has stayed consistent is that I believe yoga is a powerful tool for cultivating awareness, mindfulness, and accessing our real.”
Her words are smooth like butta, aren’t they? I love it. Change. *sigh* I so feel the pain of being perceived inconsistent, fearing my audience is scratching their heads and wondering what I’m up to now. I tell everyone that I have a patchwork quilt resume because…I just keep stepping on stepping stones that are going to lead me to my overall purpose and goal. And they don’t connect in straight lines, like a pretty picture. They look like teaching school, then living in Afghanistan, then teaching yoga in Saint Lucia, next having a husband and a baby, then working with nuclear waste…wow! Now that I’m back to freelancing full time, teaching yoga and writing, I know my folks are thinking they better pump the brakes a little with me. My experiences are enough to make anyone wonder what is wrong with me and why I can’t sit still. 🙂
But, like anything else in this world- it just is. We assign meaning to all situations and we have created this idea of “social norm.” We created “best business practices” and sold stories to people to get them to stay in one job for 40 years, even if they hated it. We infused moral value into the consistency, the loyalty, the sacrifice. We revere people who work from the bottom and make it big, cheering on the underdog as a way to believe in our own greatest potentials. Is any of that real? I guess, if you say it is.
As for me, my consistency is…change. I know what I’m here to do in this world, and that is to teach and inspire others to heal their own traumas from the inside out, in order to create love and connection within themselves, their homes, and their communities. Whatever stepping stone I have to jump onto in order to achieve that, I’m gonna jump and trust that if I follow this pursuit, me…my son…my husband, we’ll all be safe. Happy. Together.
Yes, right now it looks a little wonky- maybe a tad sporadic- but hopefully a lot encouraging. We need all types of people in this world, especially those dreamers and storytellers who fan the flames in hearts and minds of those not yet ready to jump.
So what did I do last week to be authentic? To hold on to that vision and take practical steps to achieve it?
I taught four yoga classes. I wrote an article about Beyonce’s beautiful blackness. I launched my BeautyCounter business and bravely told people that we have to listen to calls of action within our own causes, our own passions. I meditated, and prayed, and talked to people who really make me feel like this purpose will manifest. I daydreamed about teaching a yoga/earth eating retreat in Saint Lucia, and I thought about how amazing it would be for people just to come together in community to heal, to forgive, to love.
This life is meant for living, y’all. It’s meant for change. It’s meant for growth, for expansion, for non-linear development 🙂 That’s the good stuff that makes every day sweet. What did you do last week to live your truth, to pursue authenticity?
xojf