By Debbie Lynn
Release the stigma of what we are because there is far too much potential in simply being nothing.
Forcing a definition upon our self and lacing it with “I am” is a mask we wear to describe ourselves to others, and it really isn’t accurate, yet this is the path we are all encouraged to walk.
It begins at a very early age when we are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If the answer is “I don’t know,” often we are dismissed and shamed—thus the game of mending the ego, inner doubt, begins.
For example, take the infamous question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I don’t know about you, but I am not a fortune teller, never have been, and never will be and a lot can happen in that period of time. Our world can be turned upside down in a split-second and there are far too many factors that can alter even the best-laid plans. However, people always want to know our direction, our goal, and our dreams.
Why?
Some feel it is a gage of our ambition and intellect, some are just plain nosey, some cling to our every word just in case we fail, and some feel a long range plan is the only way to succeed.
The expectation of “what will be” is usually based on suburban mediocrity; a ridiculous pressure via that “all American dream.” It is gifted to us from our parents, teachers and peers—thank you very much—and it tends to squelch any outside desires that do not follow the norm.
God forbid if we step outside of this normality, we end up dealing with a lot of criticism, judgment and dismissal: What is wrong with you?
Yet all this truly has nothing to do with defining our being.
In fact, this whole idea of “finding your self” is why people suffer in sadness, anger and comparison, and it is where the emotional and physical problems are exacerbated. This kind of brainwashing is so backwards and tainted because what we do is not who we are.
There is no thing to find; we are whole and complete. We have no labels to wear; we are already dressed in our self. Think of how many things you are in just one hour, one day, and one year: a worker, a cook, a driver, a parent, a lover, a thinker, an advisor, etc.
Doing isn’t being.
Now, ponder this one, we can be “nothing,” yet be totally productive and have a full life without it all defining us. Nothing doesn’t mean inactive, it means working with-in the realms of inner satisfaction. Sadly, that nothingness is unsatisfactory to so many and completely misunderstood. We say “I am this, I am that” to compensate, which may offer others a vague picture of our life, but it is all superficial.
I still go back to what does it matter? In the end, it is our actions of being, not definitions of what we do, that create our immediate world. It is subjective, and quite frankly unimportant to call our self by objectivity.
The great and power spiritual ta-da encased in “I am” then becomes so limiting as we avow to a description of action, but not our soul.
It is the wizard behind the curtain, the making a mockery of intentions. We have to unlearn this pattern of the decree because there is so much beauty in “I don’t know.”
Now for the sake of living in the real world we go back to playing the game. But when there is a deeper understanding of the unknown, being “no-thing”, we won’t get into a rut about making something of our lives, and affirm:
Inner satisfaction is not to articulate, explain or become. It is nameless, stable, productive, and lies in our grace and humility. Know, from the heart, it is just enough to be.
Debbie Lynn realized at a very young age that the outer reality was a far cry from her inner truth and meeting her inner wisdom head on always turned into a challenge. The wonderment, curiosity and hypocrisy of life led to exploration and a cumulative documentation (art and journaling) of what she lovingly calls “the purge”. It is her way of ridding any negative energy from the daily grind. She says, “In essence, it is a way to start fresh and cleanse the soul.” Debbie has had numerous articles published with elephant journal, The Edge Magazine and Simple Steps Real Life Magazine. Her daily posts can be found on Facebook.
Photo: (source)
Editor: Alicia Wozniak
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Debbie realized at a very young age that the outer reality was a far cry from her inner truth and meeting her inner wisdom head on always turned into a challenge. The wonderment, curiosity and hypocrisy of life led to exploration and a cumulative documentation (art and journaling) of what she lovingly calls “the purge”. It is her way of ridding any negative energy from the daily grind. She says, “In essence, it is a way to start fresh and cleanse the soul.” Debbie has had numerous articles published in Elephant Journal, The Edge Magazine, Sail Magazine and Cruising Outpost Now a featured writer for The Tattooed Buddha. Her daily posts can be found on Facebook-360 degrees of Inspiration (full circle)Facebook .
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