Embrace Thyself: Everyone Else is Already Taken
By: The Way Within
Tags: Creative Process, Be Yourself, Authenticity, Self-awareness, Personal Growth

Give up to thy soul — –

Let it have its way — –

It is, I tell thee, God himself,

The selfsame One that rules the Whole,

Tho’ he speaks thro’ thee with a stifled voice,

And looks through thee, shorn of his beams.

But if thou listen to his voice,

If thou obey the royal thought,

It will grow clearer to thine ear,

More glorious to thine eye.

The clouds will burst that veil him now

And thou shalt see the Lord. – Stanza IV, ‘Gnothi Seauton’, Ralph Waldo Emerson

Each of us has a unique identity, a unique blueprint, a soul, and consequently, a unique set of gifts that we can bring into this world.

We were born into this world to stand apart from everyone else and stand out, expressing our uniqueness in all that we do.

In this way, we get to add to the cacophony of creations of humankind in a way that harnesses our innate joys and talents.

Where does our uniqueness come from, though, and why does a slightly or radically different calling stir within each one of us?

My personal take on this is that not only do we each have souls, a sort of deeper personality or identity than our mind-based egos…

… but that each of our souls has existed in different incarnations for a very long time, perhaps longer than we can even imagine.

What I’m saying here is that I believe in reincarnation, that each of us has passed through countless lifetimes to reach our present incarnations, and that through each lifetime, we acquired and distilled an infinitude of lessons, culminating in who we are today.

I believe that it is — to some extent — those past life experiences and karmic proclivities which give voice to the calling in our hearts, the unique and specific calling that leads us on to act and to create in a given direction in this lifetime.

That calling that we feel within, I believe, is our soul’s genius and intuition leading us to the places and the experiences in this lifetime which will bear the most personally fulfilling and expansive fruits possible, and lead us to where we are to go next.

The universe as a whole — and you could say on the deepest level, God — is in a process of continuous growth and expansion.

You could almost say that God, the Source of All That Is, revels in growth and expansion, it’s where all its joy derives from.

The process of creation, growth, and beauty is a continuous one for all of life.

In the previous essay I published, I spoke of how we are “made in the image and likeness of God”, meaning that, in essence, a spark of God, of the divine (and therefore all of its qualities) lies within us at our deepest core, imbuing our material selves with divinity.

What this means is that we, as individuals, and as souls first and foremost, also derive immense joy from growth and expansion.

In this way, you could surmise, that all of our past lifetimes, as well as our calling in this one, are leading and guiding us forth in a beautiful and fulfilling (albeit sometimes daunting and challenging) journey of growth, and ultimately, a gradual and ever more enjoyable return to the Most High.

So, that is the context of our personal, unique callings and soul expressions in this lifetime.

We are here to embrace who we are to the fullest extent that we can, and not suppress our greatness to fit in with or appease the crowd.

What does society teach us though, and what trends of behaviour are most prevalent within the collective human consciousness?

This is where the challenge, the resistance — and, you could say — the negative impetus for growth comes in.

“Pain pushes until the vision pulls.” – Michael Bernard Beckwith

Society trains us to fit in, to keep our heads down, to conform, to not rock the boat, to play it safe, to seek security.

Society encourages us to blend in with the crowd and stifle our greatness.

This makes sense, because this kind of mentality is most conducive to mass society and the functioning of a collective, at least the kind of collectives in which humanity has found itself to date (who knows what kind of societies could emerge in the near future?).

Limiting beliefs are trained into us from a very young age, through education, the media, our parents, family, friends, and authorities.

“Society attacks early when the individual is helpless.” – B. F. Skinner

While these beliefs and social conditioning may contribute to a stable, well-functioning society with minimal chaos and unpredictability, they are largely anathema to individuality, creative expression, and even to growth, expansion, and finding lasting personal fulfilment in life.

The temptation to conform our identities and behaviours to others is great, but the dangers and repercussions of doing so are equally as great.

There is a kind of false sense of security that comes with conforming ourselves to others, with suppressing our innate gifts to (feel we) appease others.

By hiding our uniqueness from the world, we blend in, and we are not like the whack-a-mole with its head above ground, bringing a feeling of security.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau

We also intuit (correctly) that putting ourselves out there in the world will polarise people in response to our creations, some will love us and what we do, while others will hate us or think what we produce is rubbish, that our unique expression is not of value.

However, there is a great price to be paid for embracing conformity and security over the vulnerability of growth and embracing our unique selves to enact our gifts and follow our heart’s calling: a quiet discontent stirs within us, growing louder and louder with age.

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.” Helen Keller

This is the struggle of the human condition, in one respect, to overcome resistance external and internalised with us, to surpass our fears and doubts in order to express our unique blueprint, our gifts to the world, and follow our calling as best as we can muster.

The struggle to be ourselves in a world on making us into something else sometimes feels like this.

Why is it so important that we do this, though?

On the one hand, as previously outlined, yes, we are partaking in growth and paying homage to God through our creativity.

We are using the talents that God gave us and doing a righteous thing, as expressed in ‘The Parable of the Talents’ in the Bible:

“So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Excerpt from ‘The Parable of the Talents’, Matthew 25:28–30 (NIV)

On the other hand, we can only ever achieve true greatness in our lives, large or small, overt or humble, by staying true to ourselves.

What do I mean by this? Let me share a story with you to illustrate the point…

Two years ago, I joined an online business mastermind with the aim of creating a digital marketing agency serving businesses online.

I had some initial successes with the venture, some early sales, and I learned a lot like how to sell a service, how to market myself, build a website, etc. and am grateful for the experience, those who provided it, coached me in it, as well as those who walked some of the path with me along the way.

However, the initial enthusiasm I felt starting out with the venture quickly gave way to feelings of listlessness, resistance, and of wearing a mask.

I felt like I was being someone I wasn’t and doing things I wasn’t put here on Earth to do…

I wasn’t put here on Earth to sell advertising services to businesses.

I wasn’t put here on Earth to help businesses grow their bottom line.

I wasn’t put here on Earth to feign an interest in marketing (beyond what it could help me achieve in building a personal brand).

I wasn’t put here on Earth to be a hotshot marketer who keeps up with the latest trends and thought leaders in that field with great fervour.

And I wasn’t put here on Earth to salivate over sales for the sake of sales, growth for the sake of growth, and to be a hard-ass, cold-blooded hustler.

That whole environment and mindset is anathema to who I am as an intuitive, empathic, right-brain-leaning, creative person.

That is NOT to say that there is better or worse in this context, beyond my personal preferences (which is all that I’m expressing here).

Many of the guys I met in that space, the leaders, the coaches, the students are doing phenomenal work, and it is clearly for many of them a passion and their rightful role and service in this world to give, their life purpose, what their souls call them to partake in at this time (and that’s awesome!)

I will say what I was put here on Earth for, things I came to learn more deeply through the experience of burying them, only to appreciate them more.

I was put here on Earth to share my insights and unique perspective with the world.

I was put here on Earth to shine a light in many areas, to dispel falsehood, and to spread truth, humbly and to the best of my abilities.

I was put here on Earth to help others grow, to lift others up out of darkness and despair, and to help them grow.

I was put here on Earth to spend my time exactly as I want to, to be where I want to be, and to create what and how I want to create.

I was put here on Earth to embody authenticity to the greatest extent that I can.

I was put here on Earth to help usher in a more beautiful world that our hearts know is possible.

‘We Choose Paradise’ by George Atherton, the kind of world I envisage humanity moving towards.

Perhaps you resonate with some of the ideas about what I wasn’t and was put here to do?

The truth is that we were all put here on Earth to make a positive contribution in our own unique way.

But as long as we wear a mask, try to be something we’re not, hide or suppress our innate gifts, we do a disservice not only to ourselves but the whole world, and even to God, to that which gave us the gift of life to begin with and imbued us with a calling and capacity to follow it.

I’ve been learning some of these lessons the hard way, and it’s something I still struggle with, but I feel I am beginning to step more fully and authentically and courageously into my heart’s calling, my unique self-expression, and enacting my gifts more fully for the world to benefit from.

It’s also important to note when creating to be aware of and avoid as best as possible the temptation to model the work of others in your field.

I feel this temptation within myself when creating YouTube videos or when positioning myself as a personal coach.

I feel the temptation to focus on video topics that I feel will be acceptable or popular or well received.

I feel the temptation, also, to choose a specific coaching niche, when my heart tells me to just share authentically and helps whoever needs it.

My intention is to remain aware of these feelings within myself, to just observe them, and then to act in spite of them.

I am learning from personal experience that it is when you radically embrace your intuition, speak to whatever you are most passionate about, and embody authenticity (even if it means following the path less travelled), that that is where your true power lies in every respect.

Acting from that tender yet incredibly powerful place is also where you will receive the greatest reception, and offer your greatest service to others.

Why? In a world built on limiting beliefs, conformity, and social conditioning, the greatest gift you have to offer is yourself.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Embrace thyself, friend… Everyone else is already taken.