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Do you shine your light?
You have read and heard me describe how many men suffering from Disquiet feel like they are dead inside. They feel disconnected from who they really are and what they have accomplished as men.
Working with your Disquiet brings you face to face with who you really are - your true values, your calling, and your essence. In the process, you see the ways in which who you really are is not showing up in your life - at work, in relationships, and in the world.
To calm the storm of Disquiet, you must create a new way to live that lines up what is inside you with the you that is in the world. This can be hard. My good friend Dawud, recently wrote an article that included a favorite passage of mine:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory
of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fears,
our presence automatically liberates others.
~Marianne Williamson
Your Disquiet is urging you to shine your light.
A new friend, Phil Gerbyshak, writes in his very good blog, “Make it Great!“:
“Begin today! No matter how feeble the light, let it shine as best it may. The world may need just that quality of light which you have.” ~Henry Blinn
Today’s question: Who needs your light? Are you sharing it with them? If not, today’s a GREAT day to start sharing it.
This is a good challenge. Even when we don’t fully yet know yet what our Disquiet is trying to tell us, we can sometimes still connect with that flicker of light inside. Trying to live from there can bring that ember back to a bright flame. This is a call to line up the most important parts of you with what shows up in the world.
Do that and you will notice a change in your Disquiet. Do that and you will see the difference you are making in the world.
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Tags: Resources, The Disquiet, Working with change, dark nights of the soul, inspiration, learn about your disquiet, living authentically, Our deepest fear
March 7th, 2007 at 7:09 am
Great post, Dave.
I find that we so often sell ourselves short because of some part of us that believes we’re less than we really are. But what if we could reverse it? What if we could look at ourselves not as problems that need fixing, but as beautiful beams of light? Then perhaps we could remember that in the light are particles of dust and dirt floating about. That’s our ‘darkness;’ pieces of difficultly from our past floating inside, contained by our light.
March 8th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Dave, this is a great point, and what Dawud quoted is powerful. The first time I heard that I really had to stop and take a look inside.
A couple of years ago I heard a seminar leader say that our shadow is nothing more than that which we are not embracing. That statement really got my attention.
Thanks!
Stuart Baker
March 10th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Dawud and Stuart - You both added some powerful pieces to this. Thanks. The challenge is in the remembering. Remembereing who we really are. I think that is what those life and spiritual practices are for.
March 11th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
The question I work with constantly myself is where is my focus? Is all I see about myself are those little specks of dirt, which I make into mountains? Or do I see myself in the true light that I am? It’s so interesting how much we all tend to focus on the those little specs of dirt.
March 12th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Dawud - that is one of the most effective skills to have - the ability to keep checking in on what are you focusing on. It is key in my coaching with clients.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Read this to learn how to unlock your Disquiet