Every summer I take a weekend away at Soul Camp to relax in the fresh air and green grass, reconnect with my friends doing amazing things in wellness and healing, and share intenSati with 250 spiritual seekers. I got home from camp two days ago; and the moment I keep replaying is a moment I didn’t see coming.
I was standing in front of the whole camp, ready to introduce them to spiritual fitness, and went off-script. Instead of sharing anything I’d prepared, I simply shared my true story. With the eyes of every camper on me, I chose not to hide, but stand up and tell the truth about my life, my body and our society. As I finished, as nearly every adult camper admitted that they too felt that they were too hard on themselves, and were craving more self-love. In that moment, we were all connected, and we were all free.
One of the reasons I’m now sharing the personal stories that I once did everything to hide, is because I have learned that it is not my fault. Shame is not something we are born with; it is a result of messaging and expectations of our culture, media, and society. When we buy into the thin ideal, or the idea that more money, more things and more success leads to happiness, we become consumers of shame. Because in order to get us to buy their products, we have to buy the message of fear they are selling us. Buy this cream because if you age, no one will love you. Buy this diet aid because being fat is a disgusting. Buy this course and be the best in your field because anything less is embarrassing.
But I have great news for you!
It is all a part of your hero’s journey. You need a worthy opponent for you to be able to see your true power and set yourself free, realizing it was never anyone else’s job in the first place. We can’t get rid of all the messages, expectations, comparisons or competition—in fact we want to embrace it as an opportunity to train our spiritual muscles. Once we wake up and pay attention to what is happening, we can become shame-resilient and bounce back quicker and with with greater strength than ever before.
Building this resilience is an inside job. It takes dedication, discipline and practice, but if you have experienced the pain of feeling unworthy of love, insecure or shameful, you have already handled a lot and you can turn your pain into incredible power.
Are you ready to wake up the worthiness warrior inside and face your own hero’s journey with love? Let’s do it together. You are worth it.
