Excavating the Real You, Part 1
‘Excavating is not glamorous work on an archaeological dig. It demands painstaking effort in often harsh conditions. Tons of dirt need to be removed carefully from the site if the search to uncover treasures from the past is to be successful. No matter how impatient everyone on the dig is, the excavation process cannot be rushed. But there wouldn’t be the thrill of discovery if time weren’t invested in slowly digging in the dirt.
We must dig patiently with our pens to excavate our real selves. “As long as one
keeps searching, the answers come,” Joan Baez tells us. And for what are we
searching? Shards of our authentic style. For centuries women have displayed their innate sense of style to the world through choice: in their personal appearance, in the way they decorated their homes, in how they entertained, in their work, and in the pursuit of their personal passions. The more we learned about ourselves and our preferences, the easier it is to make these choices. And creative choice is at the heart of authenticity.
Choice confers freedom- the freedom to embrace the new because it speaks to your soul and you are listening. Today be willing to consider the choices you have made in the past as you trace your life. Have they been the right ones for you? Do you make choices with you heart, mind, or gut? Are you comfortable with your style of making choices, or do you wish to try a different approach? Was there something
you did not choose in the past that, with hindsight, you now wish you had?
Perhaps a long-buried dream still calls to you from a road you chose not to take. If that is true, then stop telling yourself that it’s too late. Instead, take comfort in what Faith Baldwin tells us: “Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.” The delay of our dreams does not mean that they have been denied. Perhaps now you have the wisdom to make alterations in your dream so that it can come true. Perhaps now you n have the wisdom to choose differently.
Dig with your pen. Have a dialogue with your authentic self. Ask her about the choices you have made or didn’t make. Listen for the wisdom she has to offer.’ -Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance A Daybook of Comfort and
Joy
Shards of our authentic self…. I find a sliver every single day of the real me.
Uncovering the lost Crystal, deep inside this mommy’s soul, is certainly a dig.
I think one of the scariest things is the fear of growing complacent when you worry you have let yourself go….
Not putting makeup on every day. Not fixing your hair every day. Walking around in a baby food stained shirt as your eye catches a glance at the beautiful shoes in your closet that used to call your name.
Well, they still do. You just don’t wear 3 inch, peek-a-boo toed, strappy, sexy heels to the soccer fields. Have you any idea how hard it would be to push a stroller with a baby, in the soggy grass no less, while wearing shoes like those?
Impossible I tell you. But one day. One day. I just might show up wearing them.
When you do show up to the soccer fields you realize you are not alone. Most women have put their lives on hold as well. Most momma’s are uncovering themselves one sliver at a time every day just like you. Just like me.
As we run from the grocery store, to car pool, to game events, back to a messy home thanking God you smell dinner in the crockpot as you dig your way through another pile of laundry, you realize… all of us are just doing the next thing. Just getting through every day. Slowly removing the dirt from the dig one alteration at a time.
Some days, I just need to cry. But happy tears I promise you. Happy tears.
And if that picture at the top does not make you laugh, there is totally something wrong with you! Consult a physician immediately.
‘Maybe being oneself is always an acquired taste.’
-Patricia Hampl