Welcome to Illuminated Living ezine!
I was leafing through Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings
by Pema Chodron the other day and I happened upon a segment called
"We Can Still BeCrazy." In it Chodron was talking about
the idea many of us have, that if we were to start meditating or
working with some kind of spiritual discipline that would then somehow
cause us to improve. She went on to say that she saw that as a subtle
aggression against who we really are. Rather like: "If I jog
I'll be a better person." or " If I had a bigger house
I'd be a better person." Or the other blaming approach might
be something like: "If it weren't for my husband my marriage would be perfect." or "If it weren't for my boss I'd be
successful."
She then went on to say that meditation isn't about trying to throw
ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending
who we are already.
That got me to thinking about the people who come to me seeking
to become better people--'cuz isn't that what having a coach is
all about? To get better. Well...no.
Now just a minute!! Don't decide you've come to the wrong place
and stop reading just yet!
I've chosen to call this “ILLUMINATED LIVING”
because to illuminate is to brighten, clarify, make understandable,
and decorate. That's exactly what coaching is all about--taking
who and where you are and casting a light so that you can see more
clearly and thus understand more deeply. Ultimately creating a brighter
more beautifully decorated self and life. "Isn't that making
me better?" you might ask. Well...no again. It's helping you
reach your unique potential so that you might soar to your greatest
heights. You'll note that I didn't say anything about getting rid
of any aspect of your self but rather perhaps seeing and using those
aspects differently.
Every aspect of a person has the potential of being an asset or
a liability. Those of us that believe we must throw some aspects
of ourselves away in order to become better are simply not seeing
ourselves in a clear, bright light and so, are unable to see how
we might use them differently. The first step in turning on that
light is accepting you--every aspect of you as valuable and worthwhile.
Even if they sometimes do seem crazy/
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Georgia
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