SUNDAY SLOWDOWN | Be who you are

 "People think you want them to do something or say something special...you don't. You just want them to be themselves, 
so you can be yourself."
 
 - John Lennon
 
 
When we wonder if others are thinking about us, you can be sure we are all just thinking about ourselves.  We wonder how we are being perceived, especially in social settings where we want to show up with confidence, make our presence known, or feel like we deserve to have a seat at the table.
 
It's a deeply human condition: to want to be seen, to be understood, to be who we truly are, flaws and all. The most authentic expression, and those people we admire the most, are not about grand gestures or perfectly crafted communication or ways of being.  They generously offer us their genuine presence , they show some sign that we matter to them in some way, if only for that moment in time. 
 
It's a lesson for all of us, to extend a literal or metaphorical hand, to invite the other into our circle, to create an opening where they can belong themselves.  It's the small, sincere offerings we extend to each other that feeds our soul as much as the other.  
 
A generous smile. 
A gently held hand. 
A hug that holds on just a little longer. 
 
These are the silent and subtle ways we say, “I see you, I honor you.” 
 
In a world that asks, often demands, us to shapeshift to fit whatever is in front of us, there is profound strength in the subtlety of simply standing in our own essence, and honoring the essence of the other.  As one of the 52 encouragement cards in my collection offers,  “Be who you are. There is your ground.”  When you can be yourself fully, you give others permission to be who they are as well. 
 
Whether you're intentionally offering a generous gesture, or on the receiving end of the same, remember this mantra: 
 
You only have to stand in the solid, sacred ground of your own being.
And from there, everything true and beautiful will find you.
 
x Alisa