No Self Left Behind...
Over at the Comfort Queen blog, Jen Louden is hosting Freedom from Self-Improvement Week, with loads of giveaways, free downloads, and other goodies. Check it out.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about inner wholeness. What makes us who we are? There are many selves inside me. They encompass every age I’ve ever been, or ever will be. They include my most tender, vulnerable, wounded selves as well as my most powerful, radiant, creative selves, and everything in between. Between them, my selves carry all of my life’s experiences, as well as the experiences of my ancestors, my culture, and my species.
One of my daily practices is to call a circle of selves into my heart and to make room for the necessary conversations between them. These conversations explore different ways of being and belonging. They deepen my commitment to being all of who I am, leaving no part of my self behind.
We don’t attempt to resolve differences so much as articulate them. The truth of each aspect of my inner being, when it’s fully expressed, listened to and respected, brings my disparate selves into harmony with each other. Or at least, holds them in a space of love and safety, where they can be at peace with each other.
Like a family gathering that may start out with loudly stated or silent discontent, but that ends in convivial laughter (and sometimes tears) around the dinner table, these conversations deepen the relationships between my selves.
When every part of myself supports and contributes to the life I’m shaping, that life becomes infinitely richer. Creating it becomes a coherent activity, rather than one in which my selves are pulling in different directions. The result is simplicity, wholeness, ease. From this place, I can contribute to my world by the quality of my being, rather than simply through the things I do.
How about you? Which selves are you most comfortable with? Which ones need your love and attention at this time? What healing conversations await you?
