The Awakening
A time comes in your life when you finally get it...
When in the midst of all your fears and insanity,
You stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the
Voice in your head cries out - ENOUGH !
Enough fighting, crying or struggling to hold on.
And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum,
Your sobs begin to subside; you shudder once or twice,
You blink back your tears, and through a mantle of
wet lashes you begin to look
At the world through new eyes.
This Is Your Awakening
You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for
something to change or for happiness, safety and security
to come along galloping over the next horizon.
You come to terms with the fact that he is not
Prince Charming and you are not Cinderella, and
that in the real world, there are not always fairytale
endings (or beginnings for that matter),
and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must
begin with you, and in the process, a sense of serenity
is born of acceptance.
You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect,
and that not everyone will not always love, appreciate,
or approve of who or what you are...and that is OK.
(They are entitled to their own views and opinions.)
And you learn the importance of loving and championing
yourself, and in the process, a sense of new found
confidence is born of self-approval.
You stop complaining and blaming other people for things
they did to you (or did not do for you),
and you learn that the only thing you can really
count on is the unexpected. You learn that people do not
always say what they mean, or mean what they say,
and that not every one will always be there for you,
and that its not always about you.
So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care
of yourself, and in the process, a sense of safety and
security is born out of self-reliance. You stop judging
and pointing fingers and you begin to except people as they
are and to overlook their shortcomings and
human frailities, and in the process, a sense of peace
and contentment are born of forgiveness.
You realize that much of the way you view yourself, and
the world around you is as a result of all the messages
and opinions that have been ingrained into your pysche.
And you begin to sift through everything you have been
fed about how you should behave, how you should look
and how much you should weigh, what you should wear
and where you should shop and what you should drive,
how and where you should live and what you should do
for a living, who you should sleep with, who you should
marry and what you should expect of a marriage, the
importance of having and raising children or what
you owe your parents.
You learn to open up to worlds and different points of view.
And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are
and what you really stand for.
You learn the difference between wanting and needing
and you begin to discard the doctrines and values of you
have outgrown, or should never have bought into to
begin with, and in the process, you learn to go with your
instincts.
You learn that it is truly in giving that we recieve.
And that there is power and glory in creating and contri-
buting and you stop maneuvering through life merely
as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.
You learn that principles, such as honesty and integrity,
are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the
mortar that holds together the foundation
upon which we must build a life.
You learn that you do not know everything; it is
not your job to save the world and that you cannot
teach a pig to sing.
You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility
and the importance of setting boundaries and
learning to say NO.
You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you
choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at
the stake.
Then you learn about love. Romantic love and
familial love. How to love, how much to give in love,
when to stop giving and when to walk away.
You learn not to project your needs or your feelings
onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more
beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable or important
beacaause of the man on your arm or the child that bears
your name.
You learn to look at relationships as the really are
and not as you would have them be.
You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes.
You learn that just as people grow and change, so it is
with love. And you learn that you don't have the right
to demand love on your terms...just to make you happy.
And you learn that alone does not mean lonely...
And you look in the mirror and come to terms with the fact
that you will never be a size 5 or a perfect 10.
And you stop trying to compete with the image inside your
head and agonizing over how you "stack up".
You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside,
smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.
You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK...
and that it is your right to want things and to ask for the
things that you want...and that sometimes it is
necessary to make demands.
You come to the realiztion that you deserve to be treated
with love, kindness, sensitivity, and respect, and you
will not settle for less. And you allow only the one who
cherishes you to glorify you with his touch and, in
the process, you internalize the meaning of self-respect.
And you learn that your body really is a temple.
And you begin to care for it and treat it with respect.
You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water,
and taking more time to exercise. You learn that fatigue
diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear.
So you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels
the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time
to laugh and to play.
You learn that for the most part, in life you get what
you believe you deserve...and that much of life
truly is a life-fulfilling prophecy.
You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working
for and that wishing for something to happen is different
from working toward making it happen. More importantly,
you learn that in order to achieve success, you need
direction, discipline and perseverance.
You also learn that noone can do it all alone and that its
OK to risk asking for help. You learn that the only thing you
must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time.
FEAR itself. You learn to step right into and through
your fears, because you know that whatever happens,
you can handle it, and to give in to fear is to give away
the right to live life on your terms.
And you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it,
living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn
that life isn't always fair. You don't always get what
you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things
happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these
occasions, you learn not to personalize things. It is
just life happening.
And you learn to deal with evil in its most primal
state -- the ego. You learn that negative feelings such
as anger, envy, and resentment must be understood
and redirected, or the will suffocate the life out of you.
You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build
bridges instead of walls.
You learn to be thankful and to take comfort
in many of the simple things we take for granted;
things that millions of people upon the earth can only
dream about; a full refrigerator, clean running water,
a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.
Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself,
by yourself, and you make yourself a promise to never
betray yourself and to never ever settle for less than
your heart's desire. And you hang a wind chime
outside your window so you can listen to the wind. And
you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting,
and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.
Finally...with courage in your heart and with good
friends by your side, you take a stand, you take a deep
breath and you begin to design the life you want to
live as best as you can.
~Author Unknown To Me ~
