Learning to Do Me: How to Act on Your Ideals

I have always thought myself an open book, authentic and honest. Yet, I find myself misunderstood by many of my nearest and dearest.

Admittedly, I am a chameleon by nature, blending into my surroundings with ease. Adding to the confusion, I’m not that simple. In Human Design, I’m a quadruple split…no, I can’t really explain what that means, but suffice it to say that if I were a tree that fell in the forest and no one heard me, I would not exist.

I feel deeply, speak freely, perceive intuitively, follow dharma passionately, work doggedly, rest frequently, pursue perfection faultily, slide into doubt perilously, and live for joy enthusiastically. All of this is genuine. All of these aspects of my personality are real, but I can see how confusing I may appear to others when they conflict.

I think we all struggle on some level with the sense that no one really “gets” us. As I’ve been told frequently lately, “you’re not special.” It can be lonely living in our own little ego. My path is yoga and the very root meaning of “yoga” is Divine union, our soul’s true oneness with all existence (and non-existence). That is at the heart of this yearning, or so the great Masters of yoga expound. So let’s experiment with that truth, shall we?

That is what we truth seekers do. We seek truth and we live it, we experiment with it, until we know from direct experience that it is indeed true, or we discover that it is not: the result is wisdom.

So here is my pledge to action, to experiment with finding union within, rather than without. I will seek to:

1. Listen to the calmness in my heart.

2. Have faith in the path beneath my feet.

3. Love without condition.

4. Remain in my own spine.

5. Be curious.

6. Live without fear.