The Woman in the Mirror

Our lives are the sum of many parts, and it is our hope that the sum forms a harmonious whole. Our balance is suspended in the synergy between two complex natures: our relationships with the world and with the self. The two are the sum of our existence. We all share the same experiences; however, the uniqueness of our individual experiences stems from the uniqueness that emanates from our inner being. For this reason, we must know if what we are emanating is our authentic self or one that lies in its shadow, the false self.

The false self is an identity we create that suppresses our authenticity when it is oppressed by pain, unworthiness, and shame. We create the false self when we allow painful circumstances to define us. The greater the pain, the greater the distance we create from our purest nature. Consequently, an imminent disconnect is inevitable, and we neglect our most substantial source of life: the authenticity that comes from within, our spirit nature.

Pain has many of us living as though our essence has no escape from the world in which our experiences have been formed. Rather than allowing our relationship with our inner being to shape our experiences, we have allowed our experiences to define our inner being.

Spirit is the driving force of life, the architect of our authentic self, and the author of our fate. It is that essence that makes the difference between how we live our lives today and our unwritten destiny. It knows no limits. It is the freedom that breaks all bonds to traumatic past events and crippling relationships. It has the strength that we lack, the vision we have lost, and the determination that has faltered in the face of our disillusionment. It carries the hope we need, and it is the faith that allows us to embark on a journey back to our true selves. All in all, it is the lost identity that seeks to permeate our essence to allow the truest expression of the self.

Spirit is the source of all truth--the truth we seek outside ourselves but cannot find because we fail to realize it lies within. Spirit cannot be defined by human affliction or characterized by the ailments of our experiences. It is greater than all sources of pain, and its nature prevails through our greatest sorrow. However, the traits of pain in our human experiences begin to mold us and somehow to define us. Yet we are not defined by the experiences that occur in the natural realm. Our spirit defines who we truly are, reveals our purpose, and creates balance. Spirit is perfect, whole, and complete. It embodies our true essence, so our being can express it.

Spirit transmutes into every living experience, but when the sum of our experiences is outweighed by the grief and toxic relationships that have ravaged our lives, our spirit becomes buried in the depths of emotions, feelings, thoughts, and ideas that originate in our false self. Our veiled truth allows unhappiness to begin to steer our lives into what feels like an unending abyss in the vast of the unknown and with no horizon in sight.

In the absence of our authentic self, our destiny becomes entangled in our false self and life seems to dismantle itself at every step. However, we do not create our authentic self, and therefore, it can never be destroyed. Our authentic self is our being, the spirit of life that flows through us and in us in each moment. We simply have become preoccupied with the illusion that the present is filled with the past and that somehow it dictates our present, so we also begin to worry about the future. Nonetheless, the gift of you lies simply in all present moments. You are the gift for which you have been waiting.

The desire to fill our voids is simply our heart-mind communicating our authenticity, willing its most powerful expression. But when our heart's desire is to fulfill our purpose and live out our destiny, all things conspire to reveal our truth.