And are you living your truth? I was asked this question last week and it made me stop to think. Many talk about ‘living your truth’ in conjunction with that overused word ‘authenticity’. Or what I heard once was something about living your truth through enlightenment or even aligned with enlightenment. I guess the question for me is enlightened to what? Are we striving for a life that is lived in the light? When the light is lit, what are we seeing?
These seem to me to be very big statements and very big questions.
Is your truth the thing that is buried deep down inside that you share very rarely and which if its let out, would seem to completely throw your current life into some kind of a tailspin? Or is your truth something that guides your every decision? I’ve often said to friends and colleagues that I know things seem ‘off’ for me when everything is a chore, like I’m constantly swimming upstream and the joy in things is gone. But doesn’t that describe many of the duties that we are obligated to in our society – so does that mean that when you’re living your truth you always feel like your going with the current versus against it?
It’s an interesting question that falls in the same line with trying to achieve work / life balance. I’ve often thought that the notion of balance is unrealistic or just completely unachievable because it’s impossible to have true balance amongst the areas of your life. Between work, relationships, health, spirituality and interests, some of these areas get more attention then others and for good reason. This TED talk by Dan Thurman suggests that we should in fact be striving for purposeful imbalance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OkzozrUEHY
What seems to make sense to me is that it’s about awareness. What is going on with me right now? How am I feeling and why? That ever-important pause before a reaction, that quiet moment to check in to see what is bubbling up for you in your body, in your mind. This awareness is so important to living your truth. Imagine that you are being challenged at work with colleagues that do not see things your way. What is happening for you when that challenge arises? Where in your body, do you feel it? How is it manifested? Is it tightness in your throat? Is your stomach in knots? Now imagine that you cannot react immediately and instead, you can open your mouth but nothing comes out for 15 seconds. During that time, you can think about all those feelings that have arisen for you and can take the time before you formulate your response or your reaction. This is awareness. This is also presence – staying and being in the moment. This is also what Eckhart Tolle describes as the disassociation of the ego and the I. Watching those thoughts is what real enlightenment is and it also completely disempowers those thoughts.
To me living my truth is about awareness!
What is it for you?