Some Wisdom and Happiness for you.

Greetings Good People!

‍Dear

im·pos·tor syn·drome
noun: imposter syndrome

"The persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved due to one's own efforts or skills."

Yep, that's me. It's been with me as long as I can remember - this feeling that I'm faking it and fooling everyone. I fooled them in High School into granting that diploma. I did the same in College and got into Law School only because it was a startup.

And yet, here I am, far on the other side of being middle-aged and happy. I think there just comes a time, with reflection, that you recognize your silly, silly thoughts and settle into your own skin.

EXCAVATING OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES

From the moment we’re born, we are bombarded with messages and expectations from the world around us. We are told who we should be, what we want, and how we should live. And over time, these messages can become so ingrained in us that we begin to lose sight of our true selves.

But deep down, beneath all of the conditioning and expectations, lies our true selves. The part of us that knows who we really are and what we really want out of life. And our job is to cut through the conditioning and return to that true self.

Is this just esoteric BS? In mindful meditation, we learn through practice and experience to separate our thoughts from the creator of our thoughts. We acknowledge this truth in the common expression, “I had a thought.” The “I” that had the thought is our true self. The more we learn that we are not our thoughts, the more we discriminate between our native intuition and our programming. The process is simple but not easy.

But it's a task worth taking on. When we can cut through the conditioning and return to our true selves, we can live authentic and fulfilling lives. We can pursue our passions, follow our dreams, and create a life that is uniquely our own.

So how do we do it? How do we break the conditioning and return to our true selves?
It starts with self-awareness. A willingness to step back and examine who we are and what we want out of life. We lean into being honest about our fears, insecurities, and doubts. And we must be willing to challenge the beliefs that no longer serve us.

It asks us to be brave and willing to step outside our comfort zones and try new things. To be willing to take risks and face our fears head-on, and be willing to make mistakes along the way.
But perhaps most importantly, it requires us to be kind to ourselves. We must be patient and understanding as we navigate this journey. We must give ourselves permission to make mistakes and learn from them.

And we must remind ourselves that we are worthy of love and happiness.

Happy Wall of the week

Wise and Happy Poem

I am not the best poet, and hopefully not the worst.

Poetry is a unique and powerful expression that allows writers to convey complex emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Writing or reading it forces me to be with my thoughts for enough time to allow subtleties to percolate.

Poetry connects people across time and space. There is something deeply satisfying about knowing that my words or the words I discover and love may resonate with someone else and offer comfort or insight.

Here below a jewel from Jamie Varon.

Bob Martin

I don't care if you live your "best" life.
I hope you live your freest life.
Your most unburdened life.
Your lightest life.
I hope your life is a patchwork of lessons, trials, joys, mistakes, growth, evolution, and expansion.
I hope you understand that rejection, failure, and disappointment mean you care, you're trying, and you're out there in life, alive to it.
I hope your life feels beautiful to you more than it looks beautiful to everyone else.

I hope you're free and that you keep freeing yourself ~
From who you thought you should be,
From who society told you to be.
From heavy expectations and weighty ambition.
I hope you know when you're in a moment you'll remember forever.
I hope you know how good you have it when it's good ~ and I hope your life is an ongoing evolution, a constant becoming.
I hope you shrug off old selves with ease.
I hope you leave empty space in your life for the Unknown, the Magic, the Surprises, and the Unexpected.
I hope you don't just aim for the "best" and instead aim for Full, Whole, Ever-evolving, Unconfined and Unrestrained.
Mostly, I hope you take the path that is meant for you,
Not the one expected of you.