By Charlene M Brown
We all have skeletons in our closets. Oftentimes, they are things we are afraid to face or things we’d rather not remember.
Recently, I reconnected with a friend from high school, and she said the most profound thing: that she didn’t want to face how she’d been.
Isn’t that true for all of us! Don’t we all wish that the things we’ve swept under a rug would stay there and no one would ever clean that rug again!?
I KNOW it is true for me, and I’d bet it is true for you too.
There were so many things in my past that I had run from. They all came back, every one of them and bit me in the butt so to speak. And when they came back, they did so with a vengeance, much stronger and more powerful than the first (or the 2nd or the 3rd!) time!
But that too is how things go, isn’t it?
I think so.
Part of “Daring to Be You” means being courageous with yourself and facing all the things you are running from.
For me it was bad relationships. And when I left, I left most of them unresolved. I never expected to come back to them. 2 major lessons in this line of thinking:
1) The unresolved issues followed me and became unresolved issues in my new place with different names and faces; and
2) I ended up having to come back anyway; and
3) (I know, I know, I said 2, but this one is so important too) “You can’t run from yourself, there’s nowhere to hide” (says Ms. Whitney). Or said another way, “Wherever you go, there you are!” (~Jon Kabat Zinn, via Oyamiwa Walker)
Wherever I went, there I was! And so were all of the things I had so carefully run from. But you know what I figured out (lean in so I can tell you this secret): no matter how carefully I planned it, or how quickly I left it, all my issues followed me. All of them!
Hmmm, wherever I went, there I was, and there were all of the things I had been running from right along with me. My “skeletons” were like my shadow, attached to me in every sense of the word! And if I closed my eyes, guess what, they didn’t go away then either.
Running like that was exhausting and finally, FINALLY, I was forced to deal with them in very unpleasant ways.
Suddenly all of my FEARS stepped up to the plate at the same time and said “Here I am, I’ve found you! Now what are you going to do, I have you trapped against the wall!”
What could I do but deal with them?
And I did. One small step at a time. And I’m still dealing with them, but thanks to all those steps that I began taking almost ten years ago, I am in a much healthier place today. I am more easily able to face and deal with my fears. And I do it joyfully, thankful for the lesson.
But I didn’t at first. At first I did it grumpily.
Maybe you’re grumpy, maybe you’re joyful, or maybe you’re somewhere in between. Wherever you are, I invite you to come back to Consciousness and scare those skeletons away!
Do You Love Your Life Now!? I Do (one small fear-facing decision at a time!)
Related posts:
- I Dare You Punch-e-nella!
- Facing Yourself!
- Judging By Your Relatives: Don’t Make That Mistake!
- Drawing The Spotlight: Every Little Step You Take!
- Glory Days: Living in the Present and Taking Responsibility!
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© 2009 You Can Love Your Life Now!
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