Unwrapping the gifts that we are

When all we see within ourselves is baggage – how do we find the gifts that we were born with?

I believe when we are born, we are pure, full of love and able to naturally show up as ourselves. Then things shift, especially in a household of abuse, neglect, emotionally unattainable parents, whatever the trauma, it begins to shift our perspective of the world, and ourselves.

We become unsafe; things get confusing.

We learn how to disassociate from the pain.

We blame ourselves for not being good enough to be loved.

We take on all the lack of love and label ourselves unworthy of love.

Even if our parents were both healthy and emotionally stable, they can’t possibly protect us from the bullies in the outside world.

We internalize……We feel defeated……Shame rules us, self-doubt controls us.

So how do we change that?

Get curious with how you feel right now.

For me the toughest part is to stay in awareness of what I am feeling, thinking and how I am responding. I spent so much of my life sleeping, just existing, not living. This is a daily practice.

Pay attention to your auto response inside of you, notice it.

Ask questions like – why do I feel this way? What is it reminding me of? Not necessarily an event, but that feeling of worthlessness – when have I felt that before?

How do you see yourself? What labels do you walk around with?

This gets tricky. It’s hard to separate what is real, and what we perceive as truth about who we are.

Ask maybe – how do others that I love see me? How does God see me?

There are many layers of our baggage. We are not damaged goods. We’ve been wounded. Yet behind all of that wreckage, is our internal goodness. Our innate ability to love and to be loved.

As we lean into discovery, we can start the unwrapping:

·        By accepting things that we can’t change

·        By forgiving ourselves for believing we are not worthy

·        By noticing the self-abuse in our own head

·        By acts of self-love and compassion for ourselves and others

·        By expressing gratitude for the path we are on right now

Do this with me, and lets slowly change your story of all the labels, and create a new ending of who you really are.