KEEPING THE PIECE

We all have a piece of ourselves that we keep for us. A private inner voice that we reserve for ourselves, when we need to tune out our surroundings and find a source of inner strength. I personally find mine through writing, and I am learning to access it all throughout my day.

This piece of me, that I keep locked inside at times, is a piece that I deem precious. That’s because for a long time, I couldn’t hear that voice because my inner critic drowned it out. Now that I can spot the difference between the critic and my source of strength, I am better able to tune myself to my inner wisdom. The process of losing my inner critic never seems to be over. Life continues to present me with situations where I can either choose to listen to myself. Or, I can tune into what others want or expect from me. I now make it a habit to choose to listen to me.

When faced with a decision as to whom to listen to, a healthy dose of self approval comes in handy. Once you begin to see yourself as capable, you are more likely to listen to your own true self. Once you do the work of building up your own self esteem, you are more likely to see yourself as in possession of good ideas. And once you develop a practice of kindness to yourself, you’ll be primed to hear your inner voice.

Some people seem to do this easier than I, but I am learning that it’s a skill that you can become better at. And the more you work at it, the easier it becomes. That’s because once you sense the loving presence of your own true self, you are now in a place of wanting to hear those supporting words.

…once you sense the loving presence of your own true self, you are now in a place of wanting to hear those supporting words.

Yet don’t think that your inner voice is all sunshine and rainbows. Some days mine says, very clearly: back off, to those invading my boundaries. Other days it seems to say, with authority: here is what I want and expect. And still other days it tells me not to waste my time on people who aren’t listening to me.

I came to a place of sensing my inner wisdom after years of practice. What kept me from accessing it sooner were my silly ideas that my soul was always peace and nonviolence. Once I cleared out those limiting beliefs, I began to see my assertiveness as an expression of my true self. My bossiness as a facet of the real me. My pushiness, when it came to ideas I believed in, as evidence of my soul level conviction.