There has been a theme running around my life of late – doubt. It is not only present with me, but has been a topic of conversation with many close to me. It has shackled me, and with such exaction, making any efforts to move forward in my life painstakingly difficult.
To varying degrees, we are constantly facing questions and challenges throughout our lives. In this process we may simply be given pause to investigate and further reinforce our views. Other times our beliefs may be shaken, our perception of reality tested. Personally, I have been shaken, stirred, and tossed in the blender just for good measure. The level of cognitive dissonance in my brain had created a near unbearable pressure, leaving me walking around with the incessant sensation that my head was about to burst!
At times like these it is easy to feel lost. When our views our tested, it can begin to feel that we ourselves are being brought to question. And if we cannot believe ourselves, what can we believe? This is unnerving at best.
Most often in my life I have struggled with self-doubt. I wrestle with the usual questions: Who am I? What is my purpose? Am I enough? When I am struck by these feelings of doubt – after sorting through my verbal harangue and self-defeating nonsense – I remember something. I remember me. Not the me that is identified with my past or my beliefs. Not the me that I have constructed to show the world. Just me.
You see, there is a place I have discovered – a still, silent place. It is constant. It never wavers, never changes, regardless of my outer experience. Perhaps I would call it my essence, my soul, or the heart of me. And when I come to this place, my doubt disappears. All my questions have answers, even if I have not yet revealed them to myself. I am my own greatest resource.
And so I say to you, if you are one in doubt, know this:
There is a heart in you. There is an interminable spirit. There is a place that you can always go, inside, a knowing place, where all of your answers reside and peace becomes you. I urge you to find this place – your center – from which you may walk forward with grace and ease. Let it be the place that guides you.
And what is more – have the courage to be who you are. Whatever it is you find in that place have the courage to bring it to life. I believe this is, perhaps, the greatest achievement we can hope for in life.
A teacher once told me the most difficult step you will ever take in your life is the first step that is entirely your own. No one person will ever look, feel, or believe exactly as another does. And so it should be. Embrace your individuality in the glittering sea of diversity. Own who you are – boldly and with fervor if you care to – for there will never be another you.
Find who You are – and be That.
