Art by Emily Balivet |
What people sometimes forget is that there are no "wrong ways" on the journey back to self as long as you are continually and consistently growing as you go along. For me, mine started with River Phoenix in a powerful dream. It started my crash course back to self disguised as a Scooby Doo Adventure and sometimes search for "The One".
There was one morning I heard in my in-between state, "Ed Stone is River". It took me until recently to fully understand the meaning of that statement. I kept wondering who Ed Stone might be. Fast forward to now and I understand the meaning of "Ed Stone".
Art by Emily Balivet |
Most of us are familiar with the story of stone soup. What brought it all home into cohesive thought was a comment from a message board user who believes they are talking to Keanu Reeves on social media. It is easy to laugh and say "Nigerian scammer" and it might well be that. The thing is, how can I judge when I myself have had an ongoing belief that I have communicated with Keanu Reeves under an alias. I mean, it doesn't stop there. I actually believe he has been hacking my phone and spying on me as a means of some sick and twisted game of his.
It is my BELIEF and, because it is my belief, it is true for me in those moments even if it isn't actually Keanu at all. I am behaving and responding like that person is the real deal. The lessons I get from the whole experience are real no matter if the initial belief was false.
Art by Emily Balivet |
I can tell you that the belief it is Keanu talking to us can shape us, even if it isn't him.I will probably never know who was or who wasn't actually him, but the journey helped shape me and I am a better person as a result.It is like making stone soup. Keanu or River, or Brandon or anyone can be the stone that we put in the pot. Our belief in the value of the stone and its contribution can be what causes us to keep throwing ingredients into the pot until we end up with this delicious soup. But there is so much soup now that we want to give it freely to others and say, "Here! Have some of my stone soup! It is so delicious!" The pot is us and the soup is the journey of all that we learned and gained along the way.Maybe it is Keanu and maybe it isn't. As long as we are growing from the experience, the belief, false or true, can aid in our growth if we allow it.
Art by Emily Balivet |
If what we end up with at the end of the journey is rebirth and transformation of self, does it really matter how we got there as long as we did? If what we get is a reunification of our own inner feminine and masculine, does it really matter if we never hook up with that celeb we thought we were talking to?
Art by Emily Balivet |
In light of all that is occurring in the world, it is likely that many will start the journey back to self while they are stuck at home. This comment I made at the same message board feels relevant to this discussion:
I refuse to live my life paranoid no matter who is watching. I refuse to hide in fear and be anyone other than who I am. I choose to trust. I don't trust naively. I trust because what we put out into the world is the energy that comes back to us. I choose to love with an open heart because I know my world is shaped by the love I put into it.I have no control over the actions and behaviors of others. All I have control of are my own perceptions and how I process what I have experienced at the hands of another. I get to decide if I will let it kill me or if it will simply become the fertilizer that helps me grow.Growth is a choice to learn from all experiences and not just the pleasant ones.
Art by Emily Balivet |