Years ago I heard Ani Difranco sing 32 Flavours. The song resonated with me then and decades later it still speaks to me. So often we know someone for years and years and we have this virtual photograph of them in our mind. We think we know them, what they like, how they think and ultimately who they are as a person. In the past couple of years I have been having to ask people to take a new snapshot of who they think I am. We are all evolving and becoming who we are meant to be. For some people and myself included, trauma of some sort at an early age can paralyze our evolution and can change us from who we were meant to be to a slightly dimmer version of that.
With the right guidance and or therapy we can find our way back to the path that will return us to the journey we were born to live.
With every year that goes by we are all continually learning about ourselves and who we authentically are. It has been my experience that the older we get the easier it is to shift into and remain in the state of presence, where we function as our authentic selves. Largely due to the fact that the older we get the easier it is to find the confidence to fore go the comfort of peer acceptance.
Recently, I found myself in the company of someone that I had labeled as 'superficial'. Now just to be clear, although I felt that way, I still valued the individual for being interesting, funny and charming. I appreciated the fact that this person was sweet, just not the person I would confide my deepest emotions in. I believe it takes all sorts of personalities to nurture the 32 Flavours in me. Everyone in our lives- feeds different parts of our spirit.
So here I am face to face with this person, and to say the least I was not in the mood to discuss the latest fashion find or place to be seen. I entered the conversation with my back up and my tolerance low. I think the phrase "Get me the f@#K outta here" crossed my mind. To my delight the conversation that I was dreading actually was a figment of my imagination. Shame on me for projecting my expectations on this person. In fact it had been several months since we had met up and it was clear to me that a massive shift in her had occurred. I had to step back and reenter the conversation. I had the biggest Aha! moment. I had to take a new snapshot of this old acquaintance. Just as I have had to ask people do for me. I needed to offer the same respect and allowance for this person's journey.
Looking at her again with fresh eyes it was clear to me that she too had changed at a cellular level. It brought me back to Ani's 32 Flavors which I have added below this post. "I am beyond your peripheral vision, so you might want to turn your head." I have been spending more time turning my head and seeing the bigger picture of this person and truly she is a beautiful spirit. I have to wonder how much of her I have been missing out on because I have had this old snapshot in my head which had been blocking my heart from reaching out to her.
With Christmas around the corner and the hustle and bustle that innately comes with the season, I am grateful for the reminder that each person who crosses our path deserves fresh eyes and an open heart. Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I am more grateful than ever for having these life lessons sneak up on me when I have fallen asleep and fall back into the comfort of auto-pilot.
I will use my daily meditation to visualize open hearts connecting with white light- seems appropriate considering today is 'We Day'.
Love & Light,
Tiffany
