3 Shared Paths' Blog

Crossroads

Over the last week, a message has come to me at least three times in different formats, but still the same message.  The first time was through a question I read in an article:  “Am I honoring my truth through this action?”  It made me pause.  Seriously pause.  What IS my truth?
Then in a training session at work, though the topic was shared accountability, it delved into what is really motivating us, and are we being true to ourselves and our peers.  The question I’d read a few days earlier popped into my head over and over through the course of the day.
Today, I’m checking out some of the links on our blog roll here at 3 Shared Paths, and in the Harvard Business Review is an article called, Managing Myself: A Direction of One’s Own. In essence, it is again talking about honoring your own truth rather than worrying so much about what the experts say.

I try to live consciously every day.  It’s not an easy task.  As R. Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, said:  “The examined life is no picnic.”  And in order to understand what your truth is, you must examine your life and yourself.  So, having done a lot of that, why did I still ask the question – What is my truth?  – shouldn’t I know?

The Present Moment asks us to pay attention to signs and omens and be present every day.  A Year of Living Consciously asks us to continue to examine ourselves as well as the filters through which we view the world.  Honoring those directives comes as a side bar to doing the reading if you’re serious about trying to live consciously.  These three “signs” have made me realize, though I pretty much know what my truth is, I’m not honoring it.

The February 14th reading in A Year of Living Consciously asked us to identify several ways in which we have taken on the censoring/censuring role with ourselves.  A few instances in my childhood came quickly to mind, where I was censored from being who I was as a child.  Church censored and censured many of my natural inclinations, and the ideas of appropriateness within my family and small town did the same to many of my interests.  At an early age, I was taught not to honor my truth.  It was stunning to realize it started at such a young age.  The first memory that came to mind was when I was about 3 years old, maybe 4.

After considering these things, and few others, I realized I’m still censoring myself from living out my truth through my actions. These signs have brought me to the understanding that it’s way past time to start measuring the things I do against what I believe I am, and what I want for myself… my own truth.  It’s time to get it defined and clear in my head.

What is your truth?  Are you consciously living it?