Health & Fitness
Courage To Be Authentic
The pressure to keep up appearances that one is doing fine financially is fierce. But it takes its toll on one's sanity. This post is a call to be authentic and release the burden of shame.
Year's ago I went to an all-day workshop. It was a room of folks from various parts of Southern California.
As with any workshop with strangers there is usually an ice-breaker exercise of getting to know each other. So we were split up in groups of 3 and were told to share our concerns about the current economic situation and how it has affected us personally.
One woman told of how she owned a thriving business. She was a workaholic who earned good money. But all that has changed, and she doesn't know how she is going to pay her bills. The funny thing is she is the happiest she's ever been. She went through the shame and came out the other side and is finding out she is far more than a businesswoman. She's on the path of discovery. Hitting bottom will do that. Once you do, it's like being a phoenix that rises above the flames. And this seems to be the case with her.
Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
During that discussion I brought up Pacific Palisades. Though it may not be apparent from the outside people are struggling financially. I am aware that some folks have committed suicide over financial matters. I am also told that some folks are desperately holding onto their homes while their mortgage goes unpaid. I am not aware of the identities of any of these people, but still my heart goes out to them. Several folks in this group said they were aware of similar situations going on in Orange County.
We spoke of the shame that causes all of us to hide the true state of affairs and how that shame is so very destructive to oneself and one's family. I think of all the lovely people that live here, and I wonder who of them is going through what I did years ago.
Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
If you are reading this, may you take some comfort in knowing you are not alone and that any of your neighbors might be facing what you are. May you be inspired to find the strength to be authentic and let the appearance go which in turn might provide permission for another to do the same. And perhaps that courage to be authentic may spread like ripples in a pond. That is support; and that's what we need now more than ever.
