You Know by Jen Louden (Trust 30 Prompt 10)
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- We live in a society of advice columns, experts and make-over shows. Without even knowing it, you can begin to believe someone knows better than you how to live your life. Someone might know a particular something better – like how to bake a three-layer molten coconut chocolate cake or how to build a website – but nobody else on the planet knows how to live your life better than you. (Although one or two people may think they do.) For today, trying asking yourself often, especially before you make a choice, “What do I know about this?”
Ah, finally something that truly hits home. A couple months back, UberCoach, in a moment of unintentional irony, said that I need to trust myself - that I know what my body & soul want and need and that I'd do well to listen more to that and look less for the answers elsewhere - or something to that effect. She was right, of course, and so we come back around to those little voices, and clearing out the noise so we can clearly hear the truth.
There are many truthy-things - things we can justify, explain away, create a logic for, and find evidence of. But there are far fewer truths, and I think that no matter what else is going on, we know those truths when we hear them. Beyond all else, we know the truth. Whether or not we listen to it, or honour it, or even acknowledge it when it's happening, we know. When we tell ourselves lies - I'm not worthy, not lovable, not enough, I'll always be alone, I'll never get what I want - we know they are lies, but how often do we take the time to dismantle them? Or just to let them go - no processing required beyond 'that's not true.'
As I'm writing this, a young couple is having an angry fight outside my patio. I can hear that what they are saying to each other is not the truth. But it would make zero difference for me to yell that at them - when it comes right down to it, no one else can tell us our truths - we can only hear them from ourselves when we are ready. And, then, if the truth is not everything we had hoped, we can act. We are all inherently enough for whatever lives we choose. We are all loved. We are all capable. And when we see areas in which we are called to be or do more, we are surrounded by people who want to help us get there.
There are many truthy-things - things we can justify, explain away, create a logic for, and find evidence of. But there are far fewer truths, and I think that no matter what else is going on, we know those truths when we hear them. Beyond all else, we know the truth. Whether or not we listen to it, or honour it, or even acknowledge it when it's happening, we know. When we tell ourselves lies - I'm not worthy, not lovable, not enough, I'll always be alone, I'll never get what I want - we know they are lies, but how often do we take the time to dismantle them? Or just to let them go - no processing required beyond 'that's not true.'
As I'm writing this, a young couple is having an angry fight outside my patio. I can hear that what they are saying to each other is not the truth. But it would make zero difference for me to yell that at them - when it comes right down to it, no one else can tell us our truths - we can only hear them from ourselves when we are ready. And, then, if the truth is not everything we had hoped, we can act. We are all inherently enough for whatever lives we choose. We are all loved. We are all capable. And when we see areas in which we are called to be or do more, we are surrounded by people who want to help us get there.
"no one else can tell us our truths - we can only hear them from ourselves when we are ready." If I had only learned this about 15 years ago!! So well said. :)
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