When my dog, Foxy, was alive and we’d be out walking, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to compliment me on how beautiful or handsome he was.
When I first took over taking care of Foxy and I heard these compliments I’d say “Thank You.”
After awhile though it didn’t seem to make sense that I was saying thanks. Then the interaction would go something like this:
“You have such a beautiful dog!”
“I know! Isn’t GOD amazing!”
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The gifts that move through us are exactly that, moving through us. They are not us. They move through us. We don’t get to decide what our gifts are. We do decide whether we court them, nourish them, experiment with them, be daring with them.
This is the challenge.
Because some of our gifts are not easily plugged into the big adult commerce machine that we live in. So, we have these gifts that long to be uncovered, identified and expressed.
And the challenge didn’t begin when we entered the commerce/job/career world. The shining, or the shunning, of our gifts began when we were very young.
Our parents, bless them, were consciously and unconsciously shaping our perception of the natural energies and capacities that wanted to move through us.
Sometimes those energies were nurtured. Other times those energies were punished or ignored. Until eventually we learned that certain parts of my being are not helpful, welcome, or safe parts of my being and therefore I’ll bury them.
And like any good horror movie, any good legend or fairy tale, any good myth:
What we bury, we heavily carry.
And if we don’t invite the beast out, havoc is wreaked. On our physical bodies, our relationships, our fulfillment, our aliveness, our communities, our world.
So what do we do then?
How do we unearth and uncover and embody our gifts?
Explore the Shadows – when we’ve lived a lifetime denying and repressing aspects of ourselves that we learned, consciously or unconsciously, that we are not invited to be, are not safe to be, are not going to be loved if we express these parts, then, WHEN we see them in the world around us, we have strong emotional responses. Jealousy. Resentment. Disgust. Just notice what gets under your skin. Likely, there’s some aspect of you you’re seeing externalized that is calling you back into relationship.
Dance with the Shadows – What did you find out there that really disgusted you? Guess what, chances are, its in you in some form or another. And guess what, it’s longing to be loved and accepted and welcomed back into the great pantheon of who you are. You don’t need to run wild with your lust or your greed or power hunger or whatever it is that you experience as disgusting in the world around you. But. You do have an opportunity to dance with that aspect and find out what it really wants for you. What it really is trying to bring into your life. Lust’s goal might be to bring you into deeper pleasure and wildness in your life. GREAT! I don’t have to ruin my marriage to get that but I can start to work with the energies that live in me that I’m either denying or accepting. And acceptance does not mean complete surrender. That’s actually what’s happening when you don’t accept these repressed parts, you are completely surrendered to them and they are secretly running the show. Dance with these shadow parts. Learn what they really want for you. And welcome them home.
Explore the Gold – Pay attention to the world around you and notice what lights you up, energizes you, brings you great joy. What are those things? Who are those people? Begin to articulate the things in your life that light you up and change your state into more aliveness and greater vibrancy.
Adorn yourself in Gold – Now that you have acquainted yourself with what enlivens you, make it a practice and a habit, daily. Enjoy steering your life towards that which gives you energy. When you are energized, you create energy for others. Adorn yourself in the people, the experiences, the concepts that bring you great joy.
It is our great duty, responsibility, pleasure to articulate and express our gifts while we are here in human form so they may flow freely and abundantly.
Nature is our guide here. Nature is our example. Nature is itself. Unabashedly. Unselfconsciously. Independent of contribution to the GDP. Nature lets it rip. And is not afraid to be seen in its glorious unfolding even when the newborn fawn’s legs are knobby-kneed and turned in. Even when the Osprey fledgling knocks itself out learning to dive for fish (this happens!). Even when the Blue Morpho caterpillar looks like hairy, bird shit (sorry, its true!) on its way to cerulean magnificence.
Nature shows us expression. Unselfconscious. Unmitigated. Unfiltered. Expression.
We’re next.
We’re ready.
We’re overdue.
With love and anticipation,
Pete