I need a vessel made of clay that isn’t quite formed yet. I need to be able to pushhhh the edges and know that if I crack the container, it’s okay- I can just fix it with a little spit and dirt.
Today, I woke up with a little more clarity than yesterday and I remembered something.
I don’t belong in a box.
Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, I said that I was going to post some delicious smoothie recipes and that every Thursday I would post five of my favorite things. Although, the truth is – I don’t want to do that. . . never really did.
Do you ever do this? Commit to something that sounds good on paper, but it doesn’t per say, “light you up inside“?
I mean it sounds fun and all- maybe, one day I will write a story about an epic smoothie adventure, but not now. Now is time for stories of the soul. You see, I have been trying to fit in a box my whole life and honestly, I’m fed up with boxes right now. I was trying to fit in the smoothie box for a handful of bad reasons. Although, one reason in particular shoots up a red flag. Inthauntencity.
A Word on Boxes and Belonging
I think a lot of us do this. We are smitten with boxes. Yet, we fail to see that the box we are trying to put ourselves in, well, it’s just too small and too rigid. (Especially if you are an Enneagram type 4 or ruled by Neptune and Picsces, like yours truly.)
As a young blossoming creative person, I need a vessel made of clay that isn’t quite formed yet. I need to be able to pushhhh the edges and know that if I crack the container, it’s okay- I can just fix it with a little spit and dirt. I’m a free-spirited, go with the flow kind of person. So every time I put limits on myself or I attempt to reach some sort of inauthentic goal that I just adopted from a top blogger or my parents, my spirit FREAKS OUT. And honestly, she goes on strike for a little while. I get confused and down on myself- like: hot dog, Amber, you were so stoked about that new project. You worked so hard to get it polished and beautiful. Why are you giving up?? Because . . .
I was trying to fit in a box and I’m learning I don’t belong in boxes.
(I may have to boycott the square for a while in protest of it’s perfection that it so effortlessly flaunts.)
Don’t get me wrong. I have respect for boxes.
Boxes are safe and safe feels good. People like boxes- they are useful. You can get a pre-made box and get a jump start to whatever it is you are building. Like a pre-made website template and well crafted recipes – no problem using the tried and true method as a step to your masterpiece.
Boxes can appear to be perfect with their straight lines and equal number of sides. However, boxes are not very great containers for leading a creative life. Have you ever seen a wild animal in a box? Kills their spirit! We can try to jazz up our box with color and photos of rainbows and lightning bolts, but at the end of the day a box is a box. It’s lacking in character, quirkiness, grit and WILDNESS. It’s vanilla. Stale and overused.
Anyway, I think you get the point. Use boxes, but don’t get yourself stuck in one.
Don’t get yourself stuck in a boring box that you don’t want to be in.
I’m not here to please you.
Ok, let’s get this out of the way: I’m not here to please you. I’m not here to fit nicely in a box or even do box things. I’m here to be like unfired clay.
Sorry if that’s an ouchie, but I just don’t care what you think anymore. I love you, but I’ve wasted too much time and energy worrying about your opinion. I urge you to stop, too. Can we please all stop doing this??
I’m a bit embarrassed to say that the smoothie post and the five favorite things posts were both motivated by a desire to be “liked, accepted, seen, heard”. My poor little mind. She was trying to be so clever. I’ve exhausted her by trying to figure out how to “do what I’m passionate about while being “successful”. Let me rephrase that.
I’ve exhausted my mind trying to figure out how to please others and myself, simultaneously. It’s all so sad but true. And I’d say . . . ohhhh, 99% impossible.
I am not here to please you.
Are YOU letting others control your life through people-pleasing?
I believe that many of us get caught up in this teeter-tottering action of doing, saying and creating WHAT WE TRULY LOVE and WHAT WE THINK WILL GET US LOVE.
I can recall moments in my life when I started something that I was excited about, whether it be a new career, relationship, art project, business, home remodel, etc. The inspiration was pure but somewhere along the way it slowly shifted into something far from my original vision, all because I got wrapped up in thinking about what others will think. So there I was, just trekking down a trail that I don’t want to be on with people that I didn’t click with. Waking up somewhere I didn’t belong going: “how the heck did I end up here??!”
Peace, love and freedom are on the other side of people-pleasing.
In Recovery
So here I am. 31 years of age. Sharper. Wiser. More intuitive than my younger self. Right?
Definitely, but my journey is not over.
Like a dog with a keen sense of scent, I can sniff out any funny business that my mind is trying to trick me into wayyyyy before I’m down the trail. I can hear the tempting voices howling promises of instant comfort. I feel the aching longing to be loved, accepted and part of a team. I know what I need now. I need to listen to my head, but I need to follow my heart. EVERY TIME.
Well, it turns out, I’m just a human, not a dog, and I make human mistakes and I’m still honing my abilities to act from a place of self-love. Recovering from people-pleasing and deeply rooted limiting beliefs, like perfectionism, takes practice.
It takes devotion and diligence and forgiveness and lots of self-love.
Following your own wise, heart is a courageous daily practice.
Bottom line: Surprise! I’m a human healing. I tried to be “likeable” instead of just being me- it happens. People-pleasing is an unhealthy habit that takes time to change. I’m in recovery and doing my best to love, accept and show up as poetry loving, holistic wellness obsessed, astrology nerd, spiritual Amber more often. I’m being called to serve. Let’s talk more about what lights you up inside soon.
A Takeaway (for people-pleasers and confused minds)– Ten years ago, on the brink of my spiritual awakening, I probably would have said something dumb like this: “just be you, because everyone else is taken.” Today, I’m opting for this:
If you have been through a traumatic life event, oh, say like: a divorce, career change, death or birth, (ya know, those major rites of passage that invite you to re-discover yourself through hard life-lessons, e.i., your saturn return), then you might do silly things in the process. Transitional phases of life are very fertile ground for experimentation and silliness! However, these times can become dark and we can become desperate for the light. (mmm, I feel the ache-ness just writing this) We can get real turned around and out of sync with ourselves. So we do silly things like eating raw cookie dough or cutting off our hair or taking bad life advice from middle aged white men that certainly know squat about our story. We go a bit mad.
We keep trying. It’s a process. You will get there.
Be easy on yourself. It’s ok to do something and later realize that was a total mistake. You are allowed to make mistakes and you can always change your mind. Just keep coming back to self-love. Remind yourself that you are growing and please ask yourself if you belong in a box.
Perhaps, you are better suited for a clay vessel. Perhaps . . .
You can always begin anew.
Go Deeper:
Can you pinpoint areas in your life that don’t feel quite “right”?
Are you people-pleasing your way through life?
What was the inspiration or motivation behind your latest instagram post?
Do you know what Enneagram type you are?
What does your astrology say about your uniqueness?
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