Ease Up and Fall into Who You Are

“It’s not what we do, it is falling into who we are” – Dicken Bettinger

I remember feeling like if I just understood, I could live well.  Understanding would allow me to do the right things, and then I would finally be able to relax.  I remember distinctly where I was when I had a sudden, out-of-the-blue insight that life is DESIGNED to be enjoyed.  Wait, what?????

I’ve never gotten over that.  So, when I recently heard the quote above on a podcast, I almost instantly returned to the feeling of that long-ago insight.  And I realize why it is devastatingly tricky for human beings to let go and fall into who we are.  

You see, I spent years thinking I did not measure up.  With that thinking, why would it ever be a good idea to fall completely into not measuring up?  Here’s the thing, though.  That feeling of wonder we get from time to time, like recently when a Western Bluebird fluttered not 6 inches from my face, then flew down to my startled dogs, fluttered around them, then landed on the side mirror of a car I was standing next to, and then it was gone, that feeling of being instantly transported home, that is what it feels like to fall into who we are.  This notoriously shy bird had connected with us in a very personal way.  And I was instantly in a state of no thought, of awe, wonder, and deep love.  I had fallen into who I am.

That’s how we tell, by the way, by how it feels.  Your intellect can’t orchestrate this happening.  It is those startling or mysterious times when we are suddenly dropped into our hearts and out of our heads that we experience the vastness of creation energy.  And we long to be there, more and more.  But first, try giving up your critiques of yourself.  It is way easier to give up criticizing others, and even that seems hard. 

Try picking an hour, or day if you are brave, and let go of any thoughts about what is wrong with you.  Send them into the wind and let them continue moving through you.  Don’t invite them to stay.  Rumination is like inviting thoughts to tea.  For that brief time, free yourself of negative thinking and see if you can get a glimpse of what falling into who you are feels like.  I guarantee it is worth the practice.  The feeling is magical, peaceful, exhilarating, and creative, all at once.  Who knows?  You may be moved by who you are!