It Is What It Is

I want to first begin by acknowledging that life has been so life, ay? It has been showing us aspects of ourselves, humanity and other that is truly beyond our understanding. Whether that has unfolded in the form of racism, disease, politics, religion, conspiracy theories, relationships, law & order, natural disasters, social media, etc. It has taken a toll on our capacity to love, trust, forgive, relate and have compassion.

As I sat here deciding what to share with you, I kept being brought to this very simple step to Knowledge, “Today I Will Not Pretend I Am Happy.”

There is this perverted notion that One must always radiate light in order to be a healer, or you must only be positive in order to speak love, or you must only act hopeful in order to manifest goodness in life. This is an illusion. Some new age hype based on I don’t even know!! Like, who taught you that? Also, who taught you to have shame in your feelings? Because that’s what you are being told. That anything "other" is shameful.

Decolonize your mind people.

You do not need to pretend that you are happy. Pretending will only compound your confusion and deepen your dilemma. You are allowed to be fully yourself – exactly as you are. When you pretend, you cheat yourself from authentic relations – from pure conversation – from vulnerable experiences and healing truth your organism needs.

Your organism. Your human.

You do realize that you are more than just your 5 senses right? You are more that a parent, a child, a lover, a friend, a teacher, a writer, a singer, a cashier, a lawyer, a barista, an engineer, a nurse, a politician. You are more than the color of your skin. You are more than your gender. You are more than your sexuality. You are more than your thoughts. You are more than your emotions. You are more than your feelings.

It all means something though. And you deserve to tap into all of that and get a temperature of yourself without judgments. Without shame. Without anxiety. Without guilt.

You are not happy because something inside of you has FINALLY decided to be honest about your flailing ego.

Your denial is your demise.

We all wrestle with WHAT IS due to being unable to tolerate things the way they are and wanting them to change. Certainly, that can be a beautiful aspect of our humanity. It inspires innovation and invention, bridging together cultures and best practices. However, some people don’t simply wrestle with WHAT IS. They become warriors against the status quo. This kind of unwillingness to accept WHAT IS can become a great source of suffering, especially when we can’t change certain things about what is (ie: terminal illness). It's this very concept that prevents us from being happy.

Duality exist inside of us. You have the Vulnerable & the Protector. Typically what happened was, in your child years your Vulnerable side got neglected, dismissed, punished, abused, made fun of or just hurt in some way… So you shut it down. Your Protector stepped in and decided that you would be a certain ‘personality’ and therefore masked yourself so that your truth could never be known.

What you don’t realize is, this only reinforced shame. Shame tells you that your feelings are inherently wrong and/or bad; that your way of being triggers an upset to yourself, others and the world. And this is when you have lost yourself in the labyrinth of your mind.

So today, I encourage you – to be exactly how you are. Whatever you are. Unabashedly. Because everything you feel, matters. Your isolation is punishment. And you don’t deserve that. And never will I reinforce this.

Feel how you feel. That is what is most important. That is the key to Knowledge. It is not any form of behavior. It is just an intense experience of life. Don’t concern yourself with others or persuade yourself to demonstrate some behavior for them. It’s unnecessary.

Look for the vulnerable truth underneath all your feelings. Just by acknowledging your vulnerability to whatever is, you will have offered conscious presence to it and that has a soothing and supportive effect.

Gift yourself freedom from denial.

*Take a Deep Breath* *Inhale*Exhale* Say to yourself: I will Not Pretend I am Happy. It Is What It Is.

Your acknowledgement is You allowing yourself to be as you are.

And that is Freedom… And Freedom is the conduit to love. Even if it doesn’t look or seem like it.

SouL Much Love,

SouL Many Blessings.