The Performance of Our Life

The more love we feel for ourselves, the more we allow the creative energy of the Universe to flow through us.  

Since how we see and feel about ourselves is how we see and feel about other people, feeling more love for ourselves is the most mutually 
supportive focus we can have.
                                                                                     Arnold Patent                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

This very interesting quote reminds me of a favorite saying of mine... 

You can't give what you ain't got.
 
And it's a physical reality.

Even if we aspire to be loving toward others, we won't be able to give that loving, generous, thoughtful attention and energy  to others if we don't feel that way about ourselves.
 

And here's a big part of the reason why this is so.

There's a very popular character who tends to show up quite often in our life, perch on our shoulder and stream into our consciousness.  That character's name is the VOICE OF JUDGMENT.  

And he is a very busy fellow indeed.  He waits for us to make a misstep and then jumps right into that opening with a litany of how we have screwed up once again. 


Now the next thing I am going to say might sound strange to you. 

This character needs to be paid attention to...

but not in the way we usually do this.

Not by shrinking our self-esteem and cowering under his words.   Not that way. 

We need a different approach. 

We need to give this annoying voice ALL of the air time and space he needs.  Let him get it all out.  
 

Embrace the message.  

Literally BECOME the character...as if we are on stage and this is 

The Performance of Our Life.



When we really commit to this, an interesting thing happens.  Some PERSPECTIVE begins to enter the picture. 

While we are being "the voice of judgment" with primal passion and conviction and and living it to the nines, there is a part of us that can clearly see this character is over-the-top with his lengthy list of our wrongdoings and failures. 

And we begin to feel some compassion for this character who has lost touch with the big picture...the truly authentic picture that embraces our humanity, our occasional missteps and less than beneficial choices and that encourages us and supports us on our journey and knows us to be the beautiful, loving spirit we are.

And when we begin to see the theatrical intensity of this diva voice...it is not long before we are sending love and compassion to this character who has lost his way and is tripping over some very heavy expectations that are sourced in the opinions of others who have influenced our life.
 

But now it is WE who are making the call and We Can See far beyond the limitations and restrictions of experiencing the blame game.

And by loving this voice, embracing its expression and extending it compassion, we are truly loving ourself, filling up the bounty of our soul so that this same loving view can spill over onto others,  empowering "the creative energy of the universe to flow through us."






image from digital-polyphony.com

quote by Arnold Patent courtesy of Houston Vetter, balancedlivingmagazine.com

originally published Friday, June 29, 2012