The Art of Allowing

It's been a while since I've written anything on this blog. However, an inspiring epiphany came today, along with a big shift I felt in myself. It has to do with allowing and also living the life I was born to live.

My path has been one less traveled for sure and my call to it strong. Because of that many of my lifestyle choices are different than those living a more traditional life--things such as not wanting to watch TV or to eat a standard American diet. I also want others to feel free to choose as they will in accordance with their own knowing of what best supports their purpose. The rub comes when there is a deep and profound recognition of another being for the gifts they bring and the accompanying desire, either one way or both, to fit into each others lives more significantly. Then the dance begins of how to adapt your lifestyles to live harmoniously, either on a daily basis or in shared social situations. I don't find general social situations to be much of an issue, but more what affects my daily sense of well-being, or the "idea" that I have to compromise core lifestyle choices that make me happy to accept someone.

I have had issues with chemical sensitivities, digestive challenges related to certain kinds of food and asthma that arises from both. My epiphany was that in a way I had chosen the dis-ease as a way to give myself permission to live the way that made me feel good (on many levels) and it also gave me a "legitimate" out when others viewed me as being "a pain in the ass." But, the truth is I just want to be who I am regardless of whether it makes sense to anyone else or not. I don't want to create any kind of condition to justify my choices. In turn, I want the same for everyone else, and how that translates for me is to honor the love I feel in recognizing someone for who they really and not needing it to be anything more. If it happens that our paths have significant overlaps and we want to walk some of it together, great, but I'm not that interested in working hard to alter my life so someone doesn't feel judged by me. It can be so much easier when there's no need to hold onto the love passing through my life as a way of affirming myself in some way. Long-term relationships still form, but with more ease when I can bring my whole, authentic, joyful self to the table and when passing on what's offered is not an offense. When the similarities for daily nurturing, entertainment, or life purpose aren't there, no problem. Just release each other from expectation and move on to where you find alignment and allowing.

The trickiest part is with family, which is where we first took on behaviors to please someone else even when they didn't feel genuine or aligned with our knowing. Yet, I feel that my letting go of any guilt that my choices are different likewise releases them from feeling they aren't good enough by my standards, which isn't what I feel, but the energy gets sticky and confused when we are trying to be something we aren't.