Aside from watching cat videos, when I surf the web much of my time is spent finding ways to improve myself - diet, exercise, productivity, etc. Apparently I'm not the only one. You've seen the headlines: "The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Flossing", "5 Things I Learned From Meditating Every Day", or "This One Weird Trick Will Get You to 6 Figures in 2 Weeks." These articles are effective because they all begin with the assumption that we're imperfect in some way. That's not the writer's assumption, but our own. And yet there are certain aspects of ourselves that we never doubt. In her book Wishcraft, Barbara Sher calls them "preferences."
"Somewhere down deep, not much is left to you on which to take a stand -- so you'll take it on preferences. You'll fight for your tastes. When it comes to color, or whether you want to eat Chinese or fried chicken, or how you want your house to look, or how you wear your hair, or whether you prefer Elvis or opera, you will take a life and death stand -- because that's where your integrity is."
Yes, we'll fight for our preferences, but there's another deeper part of ourselves that we'll also fight to protect. Something every single one of us has. I call it one's genius or creative voice. It could be something apparent like the particular way someone dresses, plays an instrument, or makes a joke, or it could be something more subtle like a person's facility for patience, healing, or instruction. Everyone manifests their creative voice in their own nuanced way, which is a beautiful and amazing thing.
The creative voice is such a familiar part of ourselves that we often don't recognize it for what it is - our unique interpretation of life. We bring our genius out to play when we feel safe. When we hesitate, it's not actually ourselves we doubt, but others - afraid that we'll be judged unworthy. The fact is that we were all created with some ability that is absolutely unique to ourselves. And just as each animal or plant serves a purpose in the cycle of life, we too each have a purpose. Identify your genius and use it because the world needs what only you have to offer. Go ahead and search for the best way to do a pushup, but don't ever doubt your genius because we are all, perfectly, ourselves.
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Remember, All Creation Matters, including you. 💜