“Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.” ~Iyanla Vanzant
Have you ever had an experience that took you to emotional rock bottom? One that left you drained, broken, and totally numb? Your life shattered, and you scrambling to pick up the pieces and put them back together?
It might sound like a cliché, but sometimes it really is darkest just before dawn. Rock bottom can be a great place to start to rebuild yourself. Sometimes, it is the only place, as I once experienced.
My Spiritual Re-awakening
He had just broken up with me. We weren’t together for long—a few months at most—but it was still one of the most painful things I ever experienced.
I knew that my pain wasn’t because the relationship was over; it stemmed from a lack of self-worth.
I didn’t know how to have a healthy relationship with myself, let alone another person. The pain of trying to have close relationships without having the skills to successfully navigate them had caught up to me with a vengeance—vengeance that had brought me to my knees.
And so began my spiritual re-awakening and the re-emergence of these hidden truths:
1. Be open to the magnificent.
While lying on the floor, curled up in a ball, soaked in tears, I began to pray. I pleaded for help. I pleaded for my heavy spirits to be lifted. I pleaded for the sun to shine on my heart and to teach me how to feel the way I wanted to feel, live the way I wanted to live, and be loved the way I wanted to be loved.
And then it happened. In a piercing moment of clarity, wisdom, once forgotten, returned with the fierce determination of exalting me from my pain. Wisdom we all possess; wisdom present before our first cries as newborns—wisdom of the universe.
Hidden truth: You already have everything that you need to create the life you desire; you just need to tap into it.
2. Learn what you are here to learn.
The universe is always unfolding exactly as it should. Sometimes it doles out experiences in the form of peace and serenity, and other times, its gifts come in the form of challenge and strife.
Your experiences are specifically suited for your personal evolution. Whether you are having the experience of anger, resentment, joy, happiness, or love, your experiences are uniquely designed to help you become who you were meant to be.
Hidden truth: The universe is always unfolding exactly as it should. The experience you are having at the moment is the one that you need, simply because you are having it.
3. Be present for yourself and others.
Give your full attention to everything that is happening to and around you in each moment. If you are taking a shower, experience the shower. Avoid bringing thoughts about making your coffee, what you are going to wear for the day, and driving to work in with you.
Feel everything about the shower—the temperature of the water, the size of the drops, the smell of the soap, and how wonderful it is that you are able to have the experience of taking a shower.
The past is over. The future hasn’t happened yet. The only time that exists is now; experience it.
Hidden truth: When you are physically in one place but mentally in another, you are missing your life. And not just missing it, but missing it at warp speed.
4. Bring passion to all that you do.
The quest to find one’s passion seems to have become an epidemic. However, something that was never lost cannot be found.
Passion is not something that exists outside you. It is what springs forth from you. It is the enthusiasm of being alive that you bring to what you are doing and who you are with. If you don’t have passion, you must reignite it.
Hidden truth: You have to have passion in order to feel passionate.
5. Give love abundantly.
Spirituality cannot exist without love. Spirituality is love. It is love for the planet, love for ourselves, and love for our fellow sisters and brothers. It has been said there are only two feelings that exist: love and fear. And all other feelings, such as loneliness, jealousy, worry, joy, and compassion are either one or the other.
You cannot be afraid and feel love, nor can you feel love and be afraid. When you give love abundantly, it will be abundantly returned to you.
Hidden truth: If you cultivate compassion and gratitude, you will never be alone and always in love.
6. Revere life.
Reverence is a feeling of profound love, awe, and respect for another. Someone who is reverent cannot bring suffering to even those who have hurt them.
One of the most reverent individuals on this planet was Mother Theresa. She once said, “People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. “
To live that way, is nothing short of amazing. How you respond to another person is always your choice.
Hidden truth: Be kind, even to those who are unkind to you.
7. Embrace connection.
We are all connected to each other. A child, a stay-at-home mother, a stay-at-home father, a CEO, and the president—we are all one. Other than our personalities and egos housed by our physical bodies, we come from the same divine source.
Hidden truth: The same pain, joy, love, and wisdom that runs through you, runs through everyone you come in contact with.
To fully understand each of these hidden truths, it is not enough to read them as words on a page; they must be experienced. For example, I could tell you in detail how honey tastes, but if you haven’t experienced honey, it would be impossible for you to fully grasp my description, no matter how hard you tried.
You are more than your body, your mind, your personality, and your ego. You are a great soul with infinite wisdom, creativity, love, and prosperity, which has access to these hidden truths whenever you need them.
And the next time life presents you with challenge, be grateful that you are able to experience it.
Be grateful that you are equipped to handle it.
Be grateful that it will move you one step closer to becoming who you were meant to be.
Be grateful for what it will reveal to you.