Raw Beauty
Copyright 2014 by Janet Hovde
I have been hurt so many times. Maybe it is the same for you.
Here are words from Pema Chodron in The Places that Scare You: “we can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.”
My hurts led me to attempt to figure out how others might behave and protect myself accordingly. Now I am learning it is not so important to spend my energy in that way. It is becoming less about setting boundaries against other people’s potential behaviors . . . and more about remembering who I am. Like everybody, my words are powerful in creating my experiences. As an energy healer, I know that my words give my energy something with which to align. And so I practice, choosing my words, and playing with my desired experiences.
I am beautiful-wonderful.
I am kind.
I am gracious.
So, for me, today, it is not about imagining myself repeating previous unhelpful patterns with challenging people. It is about remembering who I am. And with practice, my new behavior choices–that match beautiful-wonderful, kind, gracious me–become obvious.
How about you? What do you know about this?
This speaks so directly to me. I am a fan of affirmations so I love this beautiful-wonderful, kind, gracious you!
This is a practice I’m trying to learn too. Simply lovely.
“It is remembering about who I am” … I like this very much. Thank you for your lovely post Janet. xo
What a beautiful understanding and way to navigate Janet! And I love the concept of softening that Pema Chodron talks about. Yay to remembering who you truly are!
My belief is that the reason I am here is to remember who I am. In that remembering, I not only heal myself, but raise the vibration of the entire web a bit. Someday, we will all remember. Thank you for this reminder.
This is wonderful, Janet. So true. I think one of the tricks that the mind plays on us is to project outward that which is really an inward trait. If we are feeling afraid of others, it is because we are afraid to be ourselves. You are clearly on a healing journey and how lucky we are to be in your path.
Janet, I understand what you mean when you write that you changed this in yourself: “My hurts led me to attempt to figure out how others might behave and protect myself accordingly.”
It took me a long time to take the focus off of how “others might behave.” It still takes practice to let others’ own their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
I really like what Pema says about softening rather than hardening. She teaches me that I can let my encounters and experiences soften and awaken my heart, which helps me understand that another’s unkind speech (or action) is about that person, not me.
I’m so happy to be here.
“It is becoming less about setting boundaries against other people’s potential behaviors . . . and more about remembering who I am.” This sentence is really meaningful to me and has helped me clarify a little of my own journey. Thank you for that. I’ve been reading parts the Pema Chodron book you’re reading, too. It is powerful stuff.