Breaking, Falling, Shifting

Leaning into your authentic self

Breaking, Falling, Shifting

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all." – Helen Keller

There you are. Wondering what steps to take next. Which decision to make. Where to turn?

People say to just be your authentic self and show up fully. What does this even mean? And better yet, how do we do this?

You must let go of who you’re not.

Have you ever had those moments of clarity when you knew exactly what you needed to do? You felt the decision settle neatly in your heart, and there was no question. You just knew.

That feeling, that clarity, can guide your entire life.

Have you ever reached a point of breaking where you snapped like a twig, tumbling through the branches to the forest floor, wondering what’s to come next?

I have. I once found myself in a very curious situation. I had snapped. I had, quite simply, broken after many years of living one way, and there was no mending the situation. I knew the consequences could be dire if I removed myself from it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care. It’s as if I had broken off from the original branch and fallen down, down, down, resting calmly on the ground below.

But in the breaking, the rending, I found myself. In that moment of rest, I sought and found clarity. For I hadn’t really broken, but the shell, the mask I had been wearing, had ripped and fallen off, leaving only my true self behind.

Not everybody liked that. People often feel uncomfortable when you change. They want to keep you as you’ve always been. It feels safe to them.

But there are moments in life that are meant just for you. Moments where you know you need to take the leap, make the change, break away, become something new, something shinier, something more whole.

There is such stunning beauty in the process of breaking open, breaking free, stepping new and fresh into a bold new life.

We are always evolving, you and I, never stagnant. If we get to the end of our life and we’re the same person as we are today, what a waste. (Unless you’re an enlightened master—then continue on.)

Don’t fear the shift. Autumn reminds me of this. As the light turns and fades, casting new, longer shadows, let it encourage you also to shift, to expand, to shine the light on all areas of your life. And to know it’s okay to break, to fall, to tumble, and rest for a while.

You can’t force the emerging, nor should you. Things happen in the timing they’re meant to. Breaking is beautiful. Falling is freeing. And then? The shift.

And that uneasy feeling you get when you do step into the unknown—embrace it! Watch where life leads. Isn’t this a grand adventure we’re on?