What happened to the you that woke up each morning knowing what you wanted in the day? The version that took control? The version that felt light and happy? The version that didn't let life get in the way? The version that was full of energy?
Adulting happened. Life happened. Work happened. Family happened. One life situation at a time you were pulled away from the truest version of you. Layer upon layer laid upon you, weighing you down, and somewhere along the line, you agreed to carry it. Heck you even started carrying it for friend, co-workers, and family. Those unconscious choices, that pressure that said "you should do this". Slowly adding up, adding weight to every step and decision you took. Someday's it actually felt easier to carry it than to put it down.. Perhaps you joined the crowd in looking for that happiness in what you could purchase, or where you could travel, looking in the outside world for what is right inside of you.
According to a 2016 Stats Canada report: " According to the 2016 GSS, over the previous eight years, the proportion of working Canadians who were either satisfied or very satisfied with their work-life-balance declined by 10 percentage points, dropping from 78% in 2008 to 68% in 2016. While the majority still felt positive about their ability to balance work and home, the downward trend may have implications for the well-being of Canadians." That percentage is more like 56% in 2019.
Slowly you begin to realize the weight and the affects that carrying it all has on your health, your friends and even your job. You start to wake up. For some it takes a tragic life event to jolt them out of their unconsciousness. For others it's a slow painful realization that at some point they chose all of this. This realization is the beginning of a new journey, a journey to wholeness, and to truth. A journey you won't regret taking.
Where do you start? It seems like such an animus task, overwhelming at first. You start to focus on how do I...(which is where many get stuck and go back to the uncomfortable life, which is now even more uncomfortable because you are aware)? It starts with the decision that you want different. It begins with a commitment to you, A commitment to begin unraveling those aspects of self that never really fit the true version of you.
How? Stop. Find your breath. Find the quiet within you. Reconnect and sit in this space everyday, several times a day. Become conscious of your thoughts, your inner words, your beliefs, remind yourself you don't have to engage in all of them. Find your tribe, those that are seeking what you are seeking and will support you. Find someone you trust to guide you and help you through the rough stuff. Be willing to invest a little money in your well-being, the pay offs are incredible. Experience different activities in life. Believe me once you find that peaceful space within you, you will become willing to do what it takes to spend more and more time there. You will willingly detach from anything that feels heavy.
Excuses and reasons will show up, some will become road blocks while others you will begin to laugh at. As long as you are committed to you, those excuses will stop appearing, after all it's just your ego mind playing tricks with you. You won't become perfect, and that is perfect in itself. What you will become is the lighter, truthful, happier you that you once knew, or wanted to know. Enjoy the journey, you deserve it.