Resolving to Go All-In: Being Fully Authentic in 2014
Blogger’s note: It’s a new year, and my musings as a spiritual activist continue. What a pleasant surprise! The opportunity to grace these pages a few times a month is an honor and a blessing, and in many ways I feel like the prodigal blogger, returned from the desert of missed deadlines and procrastination to experience the gift of editorial redemption. I offer a bow of gratitude to the S&H team and to you, kind reader, for being here with me as our journey continues.
OK, friends, this is serious. I am resolving to go “all-in” in 2014, and I want you to come with me! I’m talking about whatever you need to do in your life to be fully in your power, fully self-expressed, and fully showing up to serve in these most critical of times on planet Earth. For me, I’m especially talking about those places where, for some odd reason, I’ve held myself back. So I’m being vulnerable and looking at where I have been playing small, playing it safe, or being on the team roster but not even playing at all. And I’m resolving to play in a whole new way. Here are a few things I am doing to up my game:
1. Cleaning Out the Cosmic Closet: Letting Go of Behaviors, Ideals, and Habits That No Longer Fit
I highly recommend a burning-bowl ceremony, alone or with a trusted group of allies. Take some time in meditation and then write down all the things that no longer serve you, be they ideals, habits, behaviors, fears, or anything else that you’ve allowed to hang around in your cosmic closet. Then ceremoniously and in celebration (and employing good fire-safety practices!) burn the paper and release. Burning bowls are often associated with New Year’s or winter solstice rituals, but it is always a good time for this type of purging, so don’t delay. In 2014 I’ll be engaging in this practice each month on the new moon, which is a great time to make or renew a commitment.
2. Saying What Needs to Be Said, No Matter How Long That Awkward Silence Has Been Lingering
As I’ve meditated on the idea of going “all-in,” I’ve realized that in order to gain forward mobility, I need to give voice to some things as yet unspoken. In one case it was an apology, in another an expression of gratitude. Some things will be uttered to another out loud, and others written in a journal for my eyes only. It seems that in speaking into an often uncomfortable silence, I can free up the energy I need to bravely show up for what’s next. Are there things you too might give voice to in order to bolster your personal power and get back in the game? Join me, even if your voice cracks!
3. Learning What to Do Next
One of my favorite ground rules I offer to groups in the meetings I facilitate is: “We’re all better than the worst thing we say or do, and there’s always a right thing to do next.” The thing is, I see so few models of this in our culture. There are examples at every turn of how mistakes end in firings, breakups, scandals, and excommunications, but what does it look like to mess up, take that appropriate next step with humility and grace, and remain in the game? I’m resolving to learn and to help others with this conundrum.
And so I reach out my blogging hand to you and invite you to join me in this trifecta. Let’s do this in 2014, beloveds. Let’s really go all-in.
