The True You
Maybe you don’t take time to check in with the real you. Maybe you are distracted by the external but the internal is always there and is overflowing with joy/love. That joy/love is the truth of who you are. You are not your thoughts, emotions, physical self or your circumstances. This is great news for some people and not so great (at first) for others.
Some people have elevated opinions of themselves and their perfect body, high IQ scores, beautiful home, awesome car, all the right friends and a seemingly seamlessly choreographed home life. Some people have low opinions of themselves even though to others they seem to have it all together. Whether your circumstances seem wonderful or seem horrible to you or others you cheat yourself if you define yourself by them. The real you is perfect all of the time. The real you doesn’t judge at all. The real you doesn’t age. The real you doesn’t need gadgets and gizmos. The real you is pure.
Once you can accept who you really are and begin to live as your true self you can not be defeated. If you can’t seem to find the real you I will tell you that you already have at some point. Better yet the real you sometimes doesn’t wait for the surface you to check in. The real you will sometimes bubble up like a spring through the rocky ground and pour joy and a sense of well-being all over you. Anytime you get that overwhelming sense of LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL for apparently no reason at all that is you checking in with the distracted you. Usually when this happens we attribute it to something else. A beautiful sunset, a real hug from a loved one, watching our children sleep or even a fave song coming on while you are alone and can really JAM OUT. These things are not the cause of your joy, it’s just that the real you can’t stay hidden in the background when the rest of you is experiencing something marvelous. I think of it as singing along at a concert. The real you and the surface you will harmonize when you stop to notice how spectacular life can be. The real you will jump up and shout “YES!! This is what life is about!”
Perhaps you believe these happy feelings are naturally present BECAUSE you are enjoying yourself and this is true to a degree. There are things that bring us pleasure. They tap in to the true you. Things that you enjoy can nudge the true you awake. I am not describing a happy ‘feeling’ or ‘feeling’ of joy. Language doesn’t always do justice to truths. Sometimes philosophizing about immaterial things is like trying to describe a color or a taste to someone that has never experienced anything similar that they can compare it to. Sometimes it’s like trying to describe the way 9 tastes. What I am trying to describe is not the feeling of joy but JOY itself. At some point in your existence (even in difficult circumstances) you’ve probably gotten an overwhelming sense of amazement, comfort, peace, joy and serenity from what seems like out of nowhere and you just KNEW everything was alright. Many philosophies have many explanations for this experience. I say it’s the true you checking in.
Life force is bigger than your body and your brain and your life span. Maybe your traditions call you a spirit or even a soul. Maybe you believe you’re connected with the Divine. Maybe you think of the real you as the Divine. Then again, maybe you don’t believe you are more than you can conceive of with your own brain. Maybe you don’t believe in a divinity or a force greater than you. Maybe you believe that no one will ever figure out the exact truth of existence and that people who claim to have figured it out only figured out their own truth but that it doesn’t apply to you. Maybe for you it’s nothingness before you were born and nothingness when you’re gone. Maybe you’re elated or terrified by what you THINK exists for you beyond your lifespan. Whatever you call your true self doesn’t change anything. You don’t have to name the breath to experience it….in fact you don’t even have to believe that breath exists but it will still flow through you.
I took this photo of the moon using my phone and my small telescope.
Lightning strike
Rainbow on the way home
Fountain & sunset – combining two of my favorite things 🙂
Lighthouse & sunrise – combining two of my favorite things 🙂 ….the lighthouse still shining even though it can’t outshine the sun ( which isn’t it’s job in the 1st place)
Beautiful day at the beach…water, clouds, sky all perfect
If you can’t tell I LOVE sunrises and sunsets.
I LOVE clouds and stormy days too. Storms are powerful and beautiful.
Not That Anyone Asked Me... 