I’m going to ask you to throw out what you think you know about spirituality because for anyone who is soul-deep in this world, we know it ain’t just about yoga, crystals, silent retreats or the burning of sage and incense.
While those things are lovely and I do enjoy them very much (expect for the silent retreats – Paul says I wouldn’t even survive 5 mins lol) it’s really about getting to the centre of who you truly are – the good, the bad and coming face-to-face with the ugly. Most of us like to believe that we are good people, that don’t have any dark traits. Surprise motherfucker! We are made up of both the light and the shadow. It is only when we are brave enough to look beneath the surface that we will find out what spirituality is always harping on about!
People tend to cower away when the subject of shadow traits such as greed, rudeness, jealousy and rage are discussed. They believe it’s something to be ashamed of, to be camouflaged under a veil of secrecy. Is it not true at some point in our lives we have been condescending, lost our temper and taken more than we have given? We all have. Apparently, it’s something you definitely don’t admit to yourself, let alone anyone else. I believe that this is a mistake. By turning and hiding away from these traits, we deny and turn away parts of ourselves.
I know this all too well. Particularly, when I was younger, I was a serial blamer and complainer – there was always an excuse as to why I couldn’t do something or an explanation for the terrible state my life was in. I’m sincerely sorry for all the people who had to listen to my rants about my boss, my teachers, my parents, the area I lived in, how I had no money, that so-and-so was out to get me, all to convince myself (and anyone else that would listen) why I didn’t have the life I wanted. It was all way too painful for me to admit that my own laziness, deprivation of self-confidence, ignorance to my enabling behaviours, my non-acceptance of reality, an overwhelming feeling of faithlessness and the concealing of my shadow were the root-cause of many of my problems.
It’s a humbling experience when you take ownership of your life. It was difficult for me to stare nakedly at myself and fully own my situation. I now understood that I had a choice in how I perceived and responded to life’s curveballs, turning hardships into opportunities and lessons. Too easy is it for us to turn around and run away from our problems rather than facing them head-on and making real adjustments in our thoughts, actions and perspectives. All change starts with accountability – once learnt, we can no longer blame others for our circumstances and how we ourselves, feel and behave. We must acknowledge and triumph through the discomfort otherwise, you might just end up like little old Miss Eleanor Abernathy (lovingly known as the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons).
You could be posting all the right quotes, doing all the Vinyasa yoga poses you want, sending your followers love and light and yet still be missing that vital connection to understanding all that you are. Knowing yourself, holding yourself accountable, coming face-to-face with reality takes real courage. Doing the hard fkn work is what I call spirituality.
This post was inspired by: Cut the crap! Spirituality isn’t all about love and light by Izit
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