Mistaken Identity

As we embark on this path of personal growth and awareness we discover that in many areas of our life who we have presented to the world is not always who we truly are. Many of us have lived and reacted to patterns and roles that have been established long ago, through society or family history. It seems as though so much of who we've believed ourselves to be, or what we thought we had to be, has been unconsciously dictated to our open and vulnerable minds at a very young age.

 

We wholeheartedly consumed that which we were fed until the day we awoke and found we were choking on the story that was our life. Misery, restlessness and resentment took hold and only continued to grow in size and intensity as we fought to maintain the status quo; until the day we could no longer. We hit our personal bottom. The time, place and circumstances are different for each of us but when we reach that pivotal point, change is in order.

 

It is then that we seek the guidance and wisdom of those that call to our soul as the inner yearnings to remember who we truly are pull us forward. We embark on our own missing person's search with the hopes of unearthing who we are, what we need and the gifts we've come to share.

 

We identify those areas in our life that we tolerate, never before knowing we had a choice or a say. We begin to set boundaries and limits in relationships and situations that before we allowed to trample all over our feelings. We realize we have feelings. There's an understanding that the "me" is just as vital and deserving as the "we". And then, all hell breaks loose.

 

Those that are in our most intimate relationships balk at this newly born person that stands before them. Interactions become strained and tentative because by virtue of proximity they too have been asked, maybe feeling forced, to change along with you. The rule book for the dynamics that you played out before has been thrown in the shredder as you both stumble your way into a new and unfamiliar way of being. Most will go kicking and screaming as they make observations that you're "so sensitive now". They might express frustration that they don't know how to speak or deal with you anymore, that they have to tip toe around you because you seem so fragile and reactive to anything they might say or do.

 

The truth is you have never been stronger or more clear. They've mistaken your vulnerability and reawakened authenticity as weakness. They too were lulled into the belief that you were the role you once played and the face you put forward.

 

As the layers are peeled away what emerges is our soul and the longing to share that which is truly us with the world. We demand the respect and consideration we always deserved while striving to do the same for others. We may find that some relationships must end as they can not withstand the change, others refusing to relinquish their grasp on who they need us to be and how we need to behave.

 

As we walk this path there may be moments when we feel we stand alone, isolated from who and what we once held so dear. But once the journey has begun and our eyes opened to the new possibilities, there is no going back. With each mindful move we make we know and understand ourselves, and that power and joy far outweighs the notion of ever settling for less again.

 

We are born anew and claiming our divinity, never again to mistake our identity. With the birth of each new step we take and truth we reclaim the strains of the universal choir echoes in our hearts heralding the words, "Welcome home. Welcome to you."

 

Be well and happy.