Skeletons In the Closet
Have you ever felt you were different? I’m here to tell you – you are.
Maybe you thought it was a bad thing. A thing you needed to overcome. But how do you overcome yourself? We can expend a lot of energy trying to give the impression that we’re all the same. This constant state of “proving” is the root of so much of our stress.
Each and every one of us are raised by imperfect people. Which means, that each and every one of us has created some sort of coping mechanism or armor that we needed. What begins as a simple way to make it through evolves into the complex inner landscape we navigate as adults. Because if we’re coping, hiding, judging, or ignoring, we aren’t accepting.
In our attempt to be less different, we hide those things about our past, including those that don’t technically belong to us (like other people’s choices). But if we are busy hiding and putting on a good show, our energy can be wasted worrying that we’ll be caught – that we’re a fraud. Someone might actually find out the truth about us – that we (or our family or background) aren’t “normal”. That we are, in fact, different.
So, I’m gonna say it again. You ARE different. But it’s because of your gifts not what lurks in the shadows of your past (or present). So, throw open those closet doors and let the skeletons out. They were never yours to keep. They are yours to share. As you share, you heal. What’s even more powerful? As you share, others heal.
Our suffering is our commonality. It’s a common thread woven through the tapestries of our lives that connects us to each other. No matter how deep, dark and awful – there is someone else who understands your pain and your shame, because of personal experience.
When we shame and judge what we have overcome (or struggle with), we aren’t able to extract the gifts from those moments. We miss the opportunity to grow, expand, and become stronger.
It’s not about announcing our discomfort to the world as much as it is about living our truth. We do our greatest work when we are unencumbered by the unwieldy armor of our youth. We must outgrow our former selves in order to become our future selves. It is only then that we have both the clarity to identify our dreams and the ability to manifest them.
