You, Yourself and ... YOU?

"No matter where you go, there you are." 

I was facilitating a therapy group when my co-facilitator said this to the group. It was a comment that everyone sort of chuckled at, nodded their heads to and raised a brow of acceptance when they heard it and kept moving along.

I had a different experience when I heard this. I repeated it in my mind "No matter where you go, there you are." It was so matter of fact. It was not an opinion. Nothing was being sugar-coated. In a way I appreciated its unapologetic honesty, and yet it terrified me at the same time.

No matter where you go, there you are. There it was again. The reminder that no matter who I'm talking to, what I'm doing, how I'm feeling, what I'm going through - I'm still there. Me. Robyn ... with all my struggles, triumphs, challenges and strengths. There I am.

OK - SO NOW WHAT?

The questions began to swirl in my mind "But what do I do with that awareness? How does it shape how I talk to, feel about, think about, treat, support, say no to, say yes to, advocate for, stand against ... others as well as myself? How does knowing that I'm always me, dictate how I live ... minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day?"

While facilitating this group, we normalized feelings that spanned from anxiety about the week off of work to attend the group, devastation from losing the baby only 3 hours after birth, mania due to not taking prescribed medication, loneliness because family just moved 2,000 miles away, to joy because today was day 9 of 10 in group and healing and transformation had occurred. Each one of these people in front of me showed up as they were - unapologetically themselves. They were vulnerable and risked exposure of Self when they shared - yet it was that very risk that transformed them, day after day that they showed up. Day after day they pulled their anxious, depressed, devastated and lonely bodies from bed, got dressed and showed up. They discussed the parts of them that made up who they were. Day after day they exposed more of themselves to one another.

ALL MY PARTS - EXPOSED

This inspired me to reconsider the scariness of presently, gently and compassionately being where ever you go. All of you is there - not just parts of you.

• The hilarious parts that your best friend laughs with.
• The annoying parts that your partner rolls their eyes at. 
• The uncomfortable parts that show up when you least want them. 
• The adventurous parts that when they DO show up - surprise the heck out of you 
• The worn out parts that "just don't have the energy to care about anyone but myself today." 

This revealed to me the power and magnificence in accepting ME ... all those unique parts of me.

YOU, YOURSELF and YOU. 

Every so often, take the time to remind yourself that you have value, you have purpose, you have life and you have love ... so where ever you are, who ever you're with, what ever you're doing, remember - there you are.

(Photo source: http://www.nurturingart.com/expressions_self_love.html)