Come out from hiding {no more living in shadows}

Question: In what way have I been living in the shadows in 2011? How might my life change if I came out into the light in 2012? What strengths could I discover and share if I gave up hiding my weaknesses?

Sometimes we stay hidden, fearful that others might see our wounds and blemishes. We think we’re the only ones who bear them. But I find that when I expose my weaknesses, I give others permission to expose theirs, too. There, beneath the light and in between the blemishes, we find we have strengths we never noticed before. Hiding becomes far less appealing and we’re drawn to living instead. In 2011, what were you hiding all year? What could you do to stop hiding in 2012? What treasures will you find when you step out into the light?

Source: Question 2 — The Week of Inward Looking
From Ken Robert, Topic: Shadows

Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity. ~Joseph Sugarman

I am going to write this here … I wrote about it yesterday on my Facebook Journal. It is scary and it is messy to actually compose these words.

But it is also empowering.

I need to say that as infused with energy and strength as I am some days, it is like riding a wave. Riding the wave screams with zeal and clarity and ideas …

Then the wave recedes.

Leaving only tidal pools of random sparkle and “disguised opportunities” … discovered only after mucking about in gritty sand and sea water.

It will come as no surprise that I prefer the waves of inspiration and flow over being in the midst of small pools that may or may not hold “enough” — and enough becomes critically subjective.

Subjective because I want it all.

But I also have to balance that with my physical realities. Heck, we all have to balance “wanting more” with reality!

Thus, it is wise to resist granting more than a second’s glance to {all} … and to keep our focus on being fully present with all that is within this moment.

You need to claim the events of your life to make yourself yours. ~Anne-Wilson Schaef

For most of the past nine years I rarely spoke of my physical realities. I didn’t have words to even explain {it}. It was so complicated — and I didn’t even fully understand {it}.

Then, when I began to have words … To speak of it made people sad — adding to my feelings of helplessness.

To speak of it made me feel weak and powerless {vulnerable} — and words spoken about it made it more real {permanent}.

And it was more than real for me …

It was overwhelming.

But naming it {my overwhelming realities} and talking about it proved to be pure light.

I tip-toed out of the shadows.

And I “remembered” who I am: where I came from and what I have learned. I realized that I am the same person I was before these challenges to my wellness.

Challenges arrive with opportunities.

Now when symptoms of MS and neuropathy creep in like mystical, dark smoke, twisting around me — when my mind is foggy; my body aches; my vision blurs; my spine stiffens and my neck feels thick and solid like a stone {etc.} … I do not resist.

My practice has become to pause, and to conserve my energies for wellness — instead of exasperation.

… to allow the light of ease — fueled by experience and adaptations — to shine brightly and to guide me. As I seek out the next tide pool to explore in the slow-motion {freeze-frames} and darkness of symptoms … And await the next high tide.

We acquire the strength we have overcome.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I discovered this strength when I stopped living in the shadows … It felt impossible when I started coming out of hiding. It was scary … and messy …

But it was totally worth the effort!

What strengths could you discover and share if you gave up hiding your weaknesses?

Remember … Baby steps count. ♥