I took a 6-week hiatus from basically everything – writing, social media, email, posting, filming, consuming. Some of you were concerned – thanks for your notes! I’m fine and everything is okay.
In life’s transitions, the first step is often disengagement. We unplug from our current world and way of being so that we can enter a neutral, purgatory space from which something new can emerge.
So I suppose part of me was disengaging. Giving space for the new.
But if I’m being honest, part of me was also hiding.
Hiding from showing up.
Hiding from speaking up.
Hiding from expressing myself.
Hiding so my voice doesn’t add to the endless noise coming at us from infinite streams and channels.
Hiding because it’s easier to hide than face rejection/silence/unfollows.
Hiding because what if whatever I say isn’t good enough, important enough, valuable enough.
Here’s what I notice: the longer I hide, the harder it is to show back up.
And so I resist expression and hide some more.
Steven Pressfield calls this The Resistance.
Amber Rae calls this Worry.
Others call it the chattering Inner Critic.
If you ever find yourself hiding, here’s a little pep talk.
To show up in the world and express yo’self – however big or small, in whatever way, even with a silly Instavideo walking in a field – is an important and necessary act. We creatures thrive on both creation and expression. It feeds us.
But ultimately expression is a righteous act of self-love and self-respect.
It says:
“I respect myself enough to speak what wants to be spoken; create what wants to be created; share what wants to be shared.”
It also says:
“Here’s an image/poem/lesson/drawing/story/life that wants to be expressed through me to the world (or whatever tiny sliver of the world). So no matter the outcome, no matter the audience, no matter who hates it or loves it or is completely indifferent to it – I’ll let it be expressed.”
Who are you to get in the way of that?
Show up. Stand up. Be seen. Express yo’self.
Stop hiding. Start shining.
