Don Miguel Ruiz recently posted on his website “Love and accept yourself just the way you are. You are what you are; you don't need to pretend to be something else. When you pretend to be what you are not, you are going to fail.” Some of us have been faking the funk for so long; we no longer realize we are still in character. It is as though in many respects the world has tamed us, domesticated us, and taught us how to conform to the ways of the world. We do so many things without even thinking about them, just because that is how we have been taught to do them. We work at becoming a part of the whole because we all want to be accepted. We learn how to conform to the ways of our family, our community, our city, our country and our world. Over time, we learn how to conform to the rules of society, the dominant beliefs in our country and the laws. We learn how to celebrate holidays, how to behave in school, how to behave at social events. We learn how to conform to the ways of the world.
It is a challenge to stop going through life conforming to the norm and to begin living the life we were born to fulfill. It is time for us rediscover ourselves and gain an understanding of who we were created to be. It is time for us to reconnect with the authentic self. It is time for us to stop just going through life, but to go through life with passion, excitement, and confidence. It is time for us get in touch with the authentic self and learn how to stay authentic.
We cannot unlock our spiritual potential; we cannot make ourselves fully available to the Infinite as long as there is a gap between who we are and what we do. If we are faking the funk, if we are acting as if we are auditioning for a part in society’s play, then we have turned down the opportunity to play ourself in the Infinite’s production. It is time for us to stop participating in the casting calls of the world. We have already been cast to play ourselves in the Infinite’s production; there is no need for us to attend the casting calls for the world.
We have all been in a place where we were focused on pleasing others. We have all learned how to play by other people’s rules in an effort to get our needs met. However, as we seek to grow spiritually, as we seek to unlock our own potential, we might find we no longer want to chase other people’s dreams, and live by other people’s rules. We may find we seek to be true to the dreams the Infinite Presence has placed in our heart. We may find that what is more important than societal approval is inner peace. We might find that it is more important that the way we are living feels right then looks right.
When we are living as our authentic self, when we are living our authentic lives, we find ourselves greeting each day with enthusiasm and sleeping peacefully at night. There is a peace because who we are is the same as what we are doing. That does not mean others will agree with your choices. They might want to cast you in a different role or have your character behave in a different way. However, the words of the Infinite Presence remind us we are not to conform to the ways of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The renewing of our minds comes because we consciously make decisions about our life. We no longer conform to what others are telling us to do.
It is hard to trust people when they lie to us. When we are not leading an authentic life, we are lying to ourselves. We are choosing not to be honest with ourselves or others about who we are or what we need to be fulfilled. We cannot create lives for ourselves as long as we are allowing others to cast us in roles, make choices for us, and conforming to the ways of the world.
Digging through the layers of our lives is not always easy. It means we must spend time with ourselves. It means we have to stop making excuses and find the courage to examine and embrace all aspects of ourselves. It means we must reexamine what we have agreed to in our lives based on what others have said and begin living based on what we know to be true about ourselves. It is time to stop faking the funk and live in the fullness of who we were created to be.