Today on Live Boldly,
For when we feel invisible.
Welcome friend,
I'm Kelly,
And this is a brief talk followed by a guided meditation and a little poetry.
I hope it brings you peace and comfort.
We may come to times in life when we feel invisible.
When we realize we haven't spoken with our true voice or shown up as our true self.
And what's happened is our true self,
Our soul,
Has been hidden away.
And the pain that comes from feeling invisible,
Of not being seen,
Is excruciating.
There are lots of reasons we hide our true self away.
Fear of rejection,
Fear of criticism.
It feels new and we're unsure of our self.
We may lack confidence in embodying our true voice and our true self.
And all the while,
We build up another self that is socially presentable and proven experienced at navigating the ins and outs,
Ups and downs of life.
This other self has learned over the course of our lifetime how to minimize hurt and suffering and maximize social connections.
This is,
After all,
An essential intelligence of all humans to be in community with one another,
Cooperating for one another's survival.
I say well done,
Other self.
Protective self.
Well done.
But with age and sometimes with circumstance,
Your true self,
Your soul,
Becomes restless.
This often comes with a feeling that the world has been turned upside down.
What gave you pleasure before no longer does.
Friends you've had for years can feel like strangers.
You may begin to question,
Who really knows me?
You may begin to question,
Do I really know myself?
Oh,
My dear friend,
Take heart.
This is the call of the restless one,
The nudge from your true self,
The whisper of your soul.
This is such an exciting time,
Although I know it hardly feels it.
If you think about it,
Though,
Excitement and fear often feel the same in our body.
It's the mental narrative that is different.
So if this is where you are right now,
I want you to know you are not alone.
Countless others have traveled this path before you and countless others are traveling this path with you now.
This is the journey of your awakening soul.
It's time to get acquainted with your true self.
Let's settle into a quiet place and meditate on this.
I have a poem I wrote for you for just this time.
Get comfortable where you are and if you can,
Close your eyes.
Take some deep breaths,
Drawing air in through your nose,
Filling up your lungs to the tippy tippy top and then releasing out through your mouth.
Nice.
Let's do that two more times.
Inhale deeply,
Feeling the ribs expand to make room for your breath and then with your exhale,
Let it go.
Beautiful.
One more time and this time I want you to lift your shoulders up towards your ears on your inhale and then as you exhale,
Relax your shoulders down.
Good.
The poem I've written is called What I Want to Say to You.
What if I were to say to you,
I see you standing over there in the shadows,
Not the dark distant shadows but at the perimeter where dark and light blend.
I see you standing over there hiding but wanting to be found.
What if I were to say to you,
Come near the light where I can see you more clearly.
Come into the space I've cleared just for you.
I've been waiting.
What if I were to say to you,
Tell me what's troubling you and let the words tumble from your mouth unfettered,
Unrehearsed.
For acceptance,
The kind cousin to judgment rules here.
What if I were to say to you,
There is such a place as this,
A place where you can step into the space of love and belonging with another imperfect human being.
What if I were to say to you,
You think you are alone but this is not true.
You've learned how to rely on yourself to take care of things and maybe you've learned that other people can't be trusted.
What if I were to say to you,
You will feel a bit invisible in this world until you trust yourself enough to be seen by another.
There is magic in having a witness to your true self.
Yes,
There is risk involved and yes,
It can feel terrifying but my love so is hiding.
I know because like you,
I hid for so long amongst the dusky shadows and I can tell you with certainty,
The aliveness you seek can only be yours when you bravely come out of hiding.
I want you to slowly come back to your body and to the space you're inhabiting now.
Bring some gentle movement to your fingers and your toes.
Take a stretch in a way that feels good to your body.
Slowly open your eyes if they're closed.
If it feels comfortable,
Take your hand to your heart and pause for a moment in gratitude for taking the time to tend to your heart and soul.
Have a beautiful day.
