If there is an art to showing up it is in the ‘willingness to show up’ rather than exercising the power of ones will. It is about the willingness to endure rather than forcing ourselves to endure. Relaxing into discomfort that comes with challenge has a different quality to gritting ones teeth.
There is an old proverb about having to journey through a storm. If, before departing, you accept that by the time you reach your destination you will be soaked – if you can accept the reality that you will be soaked by the end of the journey, each drop of rain is enviable. You are not someone who is dry, loosing your dryness and the comfort that goes with it, but rather, someone who is already soaked and relaxed with it, just on the way to realising it.
Something similar can be said of the path of life.
This doesn’t mean that I believe life is something just to be endured – far from it – what I believe is that growth often requires effort. It is the way of life, and to endure the discomfort of the challenges that are presented to you as you learn to adapt to the world, to yourself, and to others, is a part of the journey.
In order for a tree to grow strong roots it requires wind; it needs the wind to give it something to resist. The wind gives it a reason to create a strong foundation, to have more of a grip on the world.
Are we any different?
Doing what you love, and, learning to find love in the things you have to – or need to do – will go a fair way in helping you to endure the discomfort of the challenges when they show up.
Of course, the idea that you can go thorough life doing what you love will seem preposterous to some – maybe many – and the idea that you can learn to love what you do may, for others, seem insulting in some instances. Especially in those instances where people feel forced to live in ways that limit them and profit others. If you have experienced such situations you will likely know that there are times when the notion of ‘doing what you love’ or ‘loving what you do’ seem so far beyond reason that you cannot even entertain them.
With that said, there is one thing you can always show up to, and one thing you can grow or learn to love more.
You.
How?
By giving to yourself, by advocating for the best version of yourself that you can be, and then acting towards it, life changes.
Yes, there are plenty of challenging arguments that can be made against this, plenty of reasons why it’s ‘not as simple as that.’ At the same time, it can be simpler than one might think, and it does, for many, appear to be a good place to start.
Showing yourself regard, as if your life was not your own, but a gift that has been bestowed upon you to look after, can dramatically shift how you feel about yourself and your life, and subsequently alter the choices that you make and the actions that you take. It’s so easy to pass off comments like ‘Take care’ or ‘Look after yourself’ without considering how we might put such things into action.
Doing what makes you feel good, doing what feels right, and doing what needs to be done, are simple principles that can give a general outline to how we might steer our choices in life.
Showing up to yourself is easier when you can show up to those aspects of your life that you value and are interested in. If you have lost touch with them, seek, and, where possible, reconnect with your ability to play – to explore without a need for measurable outcomes or discernible gains – just stick with the willingness to find out. After all, it could mean an improvement in the quality of your life, but it doesn’t have to mean that. It might be meaningful in ways you have yet to imagine.
For those seeking a deeper dive with a practice then the Creative Instinct Course is designed to serve that very purpose. You can find out more here.
You Don’t Know Until You Try.
It can help to see life as a gift to take care of, but it is also something to use – to experience.
While circumstances can get challenging, your life, your essence, the root of your experience, is something quite remarkable and totally unique to you. Beginning there, seeking gratitude and seeking to discover those parts that you can celebrate, this can be a rewarding a practice as any.
If there are any specific challenges you are facing in regards to this, any blocks you have to the idea of it, or you want any help working out the next steps to take that are right for you, please consider reaching out for help to someone who can. If you sense that person might be me, please reach out here, find the services section and book a session or use the contact form. Just get in touch and we can go from there.
If that form of support is currently beyond your means then consider leaving a comment below detailing your query and I will do my best to answer it here or in a future video. There are limits to how much I can help in this way, and it will never be a substitute for formal therapy or coaching, but it might be enough for a start.
Only one way to find out.
Take care & Look after yourself.
Clive
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