As I gaze upon the full moon, I feel no warmth emanating from its brightness, just a cold light casting long shadows around me. A reflection, an echo, a playful manifestation from a more powerful force with the dominance to protect and destroy our existence. We are not much different.
Who we are, and who we pretend to be are truths we all know; the dynamic, authentic humans whose life force captures our attention and our hearts or the cold, lifeless sacks of flesh twisting life into a fake presence, a mere shadow of the authentic being. We know the difference; we feel the difference.
Born from pain, expectation, and fear, we graft beliefs to satisfy others and protect our wounds. We create the shadows; we construct the walls, and we accept them as real. But they are only reflections, a creation of a mind-child struggling to protect a fragility we assume is there. We are stronger than we think.
For many of us, life is a test, an experiment in survival. Life is a predator waiting to rip our flesh from our souls. This threat, this challenge is the kindling which exposes vulnerability and propels growth. Our reactions to flee or fight were born from this having been honed by the ancestral survivors; yet our need to protect a frail ego from a reality of imperfection is a newer phenomenon allowed by a bored mind and nurtured by a culture pursuing normalcy and perfection. These are the shadows haunting our brilliance.
The protection accepted by the constructed mental fortifications, bricks, and walls are the distorted prison enclosures restraining the authentic self. Oh, our resiliency has no limits; we are as creative as we are cynical. Or is that just me?
We should not always believe the light that casts the shadow for the true source holds the real strength. The reflection in the mirror is real if we pretend to ignore the person standing in front of it. Deep down, we know we are not shadows and reflections; we understand our existence is rooted in life’s meanings. Yet, we believe alternative facts because we wish to shield the truth—we are imperfect, flawed, strange, yet common.
Life is a battle because we are fighting so no one can see how messed up we are. We are all focused on our own internal struggle with this truth. No one is paying attention to anyone else because we are absorbed in pretending the universal expectation of perfection is real. It is a lie. No one has been paying attention but you.
If for a few moments we could focus our energies onto being our authentic selves based on our true values and accepting our imperfections as character and strength, we would move from existing to living fully.
Who are you really? Who is the authentic-self screaming to escape the prison?
Our authentic selves are stronger than we realize. The bored mind-child tricked us into believing we are weaker than we are. Give the mind-child a big bear hug and place it in timeout. Your authentic self needs some fresh air. Please let us experience it.
Photo/Pixabay
Wow! That article felt as though it was written just for me. Such resonance! Loved it! ❤❤