This morning while I was half-sleeping and half-waking, the first thoughts I remember are, “…assertive, not aggressive… confidence…” Those words were independent of any context, but I figured the day would reveal their purpose at some point. I’m kind of glad I didn’t wake up with the usual, “What day is it?” (By the way, I just realized it’s Friday.)
When I sat outside to watch for visitors to the feeders, the first to come and hang out with me was a Carolina wren. I haven’t committed to memory any bird symbolism, so I had to google for some guidance on possible meanings. I felt happy reading The Mighty Carolina Wren because the author, Patty Servidio, seems to have a similar view on recognizing more in ordinary life events. She also used one of the words that woke me up today – confidence.
I remembered using one of my Carolina wren photos to share a quote, but I couldn’t remember if I wrote an accompanying blog post. After a little bit of searching, I found my Instagram post as well as my blog post, Kindness? Deal Me In, Please. I wrote it on 17 September 2019, which didn’t seem so long ago yet seems soooooooooooo long ago.
So then there was the other piece of my morning routine – oracle cards. I felt called to use both my Radleigh Valentine Fairy Tarot Cards as well as my James Van Praagh The Soul’s Journey Lesson Cards.
One card fell softly while I was shuffling the fairy deck. “King of Autumn. Compassionate. Accomplished. Charismatic. Gifted. Be assertive when it comes to what you know is right! Everything going your way. A good person or company to work for.”
The soul’s journey lesson card was inverted. “Love. I commit to the practice of seeing the good in all things.” So to me, the “inverted” lesson is fear. “Fear. I realize that I am testing my resolve to live in the energy of love.” One might think it’s “hate” but James Van Praagh states his thought that, “The outcome of all choices in life is determined by two emotions: fear and love.”
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hate. A product of fear. Dr. King called us to a nonviolent approach to change. Love. Assertive, not aggressive.
We have to face our own fears, the shadows, the low vibrations. We have to reveal them, deal with them, and heal them. Not only the collective we, but also each of us as individuals.
Earlier this week, I felt called to do some of the shadow work that I had been avoiding. I even listed it as a “component” of Being All-Zen-and-Shit.
“I allow myself the time and space I need to recognize and deal with my own negative emotions and experiences. I accept that they offer me lessons and growth. We have both shadows and light, and we cannot ignore discomfort, pain, or darkness, but we also cannot stay there. I do the work, then I release them.”
– a bullet from the page, Being All-Zen-and-Shit
I knew that only good things could come of it, but for a while, I felt scared by having to revisit pain. I realized that “revisiting” is so trivial when compared to what others have in their current, daily experiences. I also felt aware that it might give me both perspective and healing in order to release parts of the past that serve no good in the present or future.
I finally let go of the fear because love allows healing, peace, and light. Our individual healing helps us to bring our authentic light to the world. Fearless and loving. And better able to bring compassion, empathy, kindness, and love to others.
Earlier today when I was thinking about love and fear in the context of Dr. King’s quote above, Disney’s Frozen came to mind.
“The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded.”
– Pabbie Troll, Disney’s Frozen
SPOILER ALERT… although if you haven’t watched Frozen this many years after its release, I have a feeling you probably won’t watch it or simply don’t give a shit. Either way, it’s your choice if you want to read this paragraph. 😉 During the scene of the quote above, Elsa receives advice that her power to use magic can be beautiful but also dangerous, so she needs to learn how to control it. “Fear will be your enemy.” The king’s solution is to hide her power from everyone. Elsa’s control is “conceal, don’t feel” (opposite of what I wrote earlier about our fears – “reveal them, deal with them, and heal them”). In Elsa’s signature song, Let It Go, she sings of letting go of fear and the past. Ultimately Elsa learns the truth of using love to combat fear and control her power.
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
– Lao Tzu
Be kind to yourself and do what you need to in order to show up as a better person for your family and friends and even for strangers, but most of all, for yourself. Make peace with yourself, your shadows, and the past so you can let it go… Let go of fear… Welcome kindness… Welcome love… and bring your light to drive out darkness.
Luceat lux vestra.
[…] wrote about being a spork a few weeks ago, and my last post was about working with the shadows and healing from them in order to come to live more peacefully and let my light shine. Balance. Duality. We can’t […]