August 01st, 2017

Do you have the need to constantly compare yourself to others? Do you feel better or worse about yourself depending on whom you compare yourself to? Is there always some reason you don’t measure up? If these are habits you find yourself repeating on a regular basis, you are not owning who YOU truly are.  Instead you are constantly trying to fit into someone else’s “shoes” and as hard as you try, they will never fit nor will they take you down the path that was meant for you.
 
In the belief that your shoes are inherently flawed, you persist in trying on shoes of different sizes, colours, and styles, but never actually claim your own! You hobble around in ill-fitting shoes, disregarding the discomfort, believing that it will just take time and they will fit like a glove! You might even begin to feel that they really are your shoes; however they will inevitably cause pain, possibly even desperate despair.
 
If the messages we receive in our life cause us to believe that our own metaphorical shoes are defective in some way, the result will be that we constantly attempt to claim another’s. Perhaps our shoes are brown, and yellow was considered more beautiful. Perhaps our shoes have a chunky heel and we were told that slim linear heels are much more attractive. Maybe our shoes were vinyl and we were told they are not as strong and vibrant as leather. From all the messages received at different points in our lives, the decision is often made that our shoes do not measure up and therefore must be replaced.
 
Many of the blindly accepted “truths” that we hold are beyond our immediate awareness. It is usually not until we reach the point of great discomfort or despair that we start to question the metaphorical shoes we have been to trying to fit into. For many, our closet becomes filled with many ill-fitting shoes before the pain and discomfort forces us to search for our very own custom-made shoes. Is what you are trying so hard to make your own, really your own and if it isn’t, is it of any use to you?
 
Each and every one of us has a specific purpose in this world, and when we accept this we can understand why we need to wear our own shoes to follow our path. If you were given brown shoes with chunky heals, they were given to you for a reason. Possibly the work you need to do in this lifetime requires a steady gait, where a slim linear heel would most surely break on the terrain of your intended path. Your purpose is one that absolutely no one else can fulfill. If you decide not to proceed in your own shoes, there will always be discomfort, possibly feelings that “there should be something more” or that “something is missing", and in some instances complete despair.
 
No one purpose is any less important than another and everyone is given his or her own unique gifts to fulfill their own life purpose. By accepting and loving your unique gifts instead of comparing yours to others, you will take the first steps towards a meaningful and fulfilling life. When you begin to accept and express who you are as an individual, there is peace and contentment instead of jealousy and self-judgment. The most difficult thing to do in this lifetime is to be ourselves, but it is also the most rewarding!
 
Search out your custom-made shoes and walk in peace and comfort on the path that was set before you.