As you sit around the table with friends and family today, despite your dutiful efforts towards gratitude, there may be a part of you that’s focused on what you don’t have. That is why this Thanksgiving, we must tell the truth.
We live in this world where we don’t know what’s real and what’s a facade anymore. And unless we truly tap into our intuition, it’s nearly impossible to tell. That’s why I think portraying Glamour magazine versions of ourselves is extremely dangerous, and whether we realize it or not, many of us are doing this: telling parts of the story but not the real parts. Saying we’re fine, when we’re falling apart. Simply not being honest with each other, even ourselves.
There are so many layers to our experiences, and like many of us, I walk the line between sharing and secrecy. I constantly ask, how much do I tell about my tragedies? Do I dig into the details? Do I even want to share this? Am I ready? Is it processed enough?
I want to encourage you to tell your stories. Be brave. When people aren’t listening, tell the stories again, differently and more powerfully. It’s not your problem if someone else can’t understand your experience. They will get to it. At some point, we have to let karma and time handle the rest. But the minute you choose not to speak up because you assume you won’t be heard, your silence becomes your problem.
It’s a tumultuous time for many of us in the United States, and what I’m seeing is that now more than ever we are truly open to hearing each other. There are many marginalized communities, and our aim must be to “get” one another.
There are people suffering from racism, sexism, mental illness, death, loss, physical illness, abuse, sexual assault and more. There are women, men, children of every race, financial bracket and background, who are single, straight, divorced, transgender and everything in between, who are so deeply in pain. As a life coach, I sometimes joke I am a secret keeper. And what have I learned in hearing all these secrets? So many of us are suffering.
And yet we keep going. I want to know the truth. How are we all surviving? Based on our circumstances, the challenges life has given us or we have chosen, what is making it better?
How are our friends, family, brothers and sisters, in marginalized communities because of race, religion, illness or something else, surviving and thriving when faced with multiplications of life’s challenges? Give thanks for what you have, for how you’ve survived and for what you’ve created amidst it all. Give thanks for the challenges life has thrown at you that you never thought you would survive, and yet, you are here. Now.
Today’s note is a letter of love and truth to you…and a vow to myself: do whatever you can to resist the game of comparison. Stop comparing. We each have stories. They are all valuable. What happened to you is REAL, and you need to hear your truth. The world does too.
Through listening, we create a further and deeper space for understanding. By understanding, we forge connection. Through connection, we create a conversation-rather than a monologue, and that can be world-changing.
I’m practicing being grateful for stuff you would never normally be grateful for, like a death, a bad breakup or a betrayal (or you know, all three). So here’s one for you: I’m grateful people are angry about this election. It’s bringing a lot of divisive beliefs to light. We have become too different, and yet we know we are all the same. As a result, we are fundamentally disconnected and dumbfounded as to how it got to be so extreme.
If you want to dig into this deeper, join us in our Inner Glow Circle Mastermind. Here’s a 50% off discount code so that it will only be $149.50 for your first month with us: Glow50. And if you want to hop on the phone and talk about joining before you make the leap, email me at katie@innerglowcircle.com. There is a lot happening right now, and we must join together to navigate these waters.
In gratitude,
Katie
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