“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

High school was hard. Not so much the classes. The classes, at least at my high school, were a breeze. The hard part about high school was navigating the social cliques and doing anything possible, including great leaps of effort and imagination, to not, under any circumstances, do or say anything that would constitute the tragic and unshakable label of being weird. I did my best to look like everyone else, and everyone else did their best to look like me. We were all hiding – with each other and from each other.

Being insecure in high school I can understand. Everyone is still growing into themselves and trying to map out their coordinates on the spectrum of social relationships. High schoolers are allowed to be nervous wrecks, afraid that their own shadow will make fun of them if they trip and fall. But after high school, when we transition into adults, shouldn’t this need for approval go away? My high school years are long gone but everywhere I look the social pressure to conform to the standards and expectations of others remains. Adults too are afraid of looking weird. Should we be?

Zen Gardner, Guest
Waking Times

It’s intriguing to me to find viewpoints. When we observe anything we need to be mindful from whence we are doing so. It has everything to do with how we perceive so called reality.

I had an interesting experience one time, I can’t remember if it was in a semi dream state or some such altered frame of reference, but I could see an object or concept I was viewing as a sort of crystal. If you looked at it head on it had certain perceived traits and characteristics. But when I moved slightly to the side to see this form through another facet it was of a completely different nature than I had originally perceived.

Ida Lawrence, Contributor
Waking Times

What could a person possibly gain from insecurity? What could be the reward of feeling undeserving? Why would we harbor low self-esteem? Why do we think against ourselves? These states are not natural to our essence or inner being, so why… where did the urge to give away our power come from?

I grew up in the American Midwest, in a place where people worked very hard for not a lot of reward. And yet, I can’t remember a single instance of a farmer saying ‘I deserve’ a better life. Everyone I knew behaved as if self-denial was humble and spiritual and a sign of goodness, and ‘I deserve’ was presumptuous and greedy.

It’s the ego that makes these comparisons. Ego identity comes with the situation we’re born into, formed by interacting with who and what is in our world, and by what works for us as we go out into our world. It’s the character we think we are, the separate I and me, as we deal with others.

“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” ~ Alexandra K.Trenfor

There comes a time when we reach a level of awareness – about our selves and others – when we are able to function with love and security, slowly working on ourselves as we move towards the light. There may still be bad days, but all in all we will have dealt with the stealthiest parts of our shadows and are simply working towards being a ray of light for others; an example to follow.

With this comes great responsibility – perhaps the reason why many are avoiding it! – but this is where our true selves shine out. We become a teacher. Not a preacher. The ego preaches. The ego wants to tell everyone else that they are right and you are wrong. A teacher doesn’t need to do this. They have solved the problem of themselves and are simply existing, enjoying the experience of being alive.

Many of us live with the understanding that to turn off our personal chatter and quieten our mind involves us having ‘to do’ something, to either distract ourselves or refocus our attention.

Some of us are even unaware of how busy minded we have become. We live with a revved up speed of thought and don’t recognize its significance in our struggles with productivity, procrastination, and relationships.

We sometimes only realize the scale of our mental speed when it slows down enough for us to notice it. Much like hearing a noisy drill on a construction site next to our office, we don’t realize how intrusive and loud it is until it stops momentarily before then starting up again.

We all have an innate pull towards habits and pastimes to help us: holidays, hobbies, yoga, cycling, alcohol, walking, watching movies and our phones! The list is endless.

What if our understanding of having ‘to do’ something in order to quieten our mind becomes the obstacle?

By Carolanne Wright
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

“If cannabis were discovered in the Amazon rainforest today, people would be clambering to make as much use as they could of all of the potential benefits of the plant. Unfortunately, it carries with it a long history of being a persecuted plant.” ~ Dr. Donald Abrams, Chief of Hematology Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital

Approximately 106,000 Americans die yearly from prescribed medications, according to the American Medical Association. Even more frightening, preventable medical errors account for a staggering 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year — and is considered the 3rd leading cause of death. “It’s equivalent to 2,000 commercial jets taking off each year knowing that they don’t have enough fuel to complete their journeys,” notes Peter Edelstein M.D. “Would you allow your spouse to board one of those planes? Your friend? A stranger?”

When a person experiences a challenge tragedy or loss, one of the most common questions will be, “What happened?” Curiosity can help you attain knowledge and grow, but sometimes there is no room for it.  Asking for details does not benefit or help the person moving through grief….it is for you only. Please remember; if an individual experiencing pain approach you, put your ego aside.  They have come to you for a reason.  Your only job is to hold space, offer a shoulder and to commiserate with them if necessary.  Allow others to heal in their own way just as you wish to heal in yours. ~ Creator

https://thecreatorwritings.wordpress.com/2015/08/01/a-shoulder/