I was listening to an audiobook this morning, and the author was telling a fable about a woman who lived in the woods and was known throughout the land to be a seer. She could tell people what their future held. People would come from far away to see her. When they arrived at her doorstep, the gentleman that answered the door would ask, "Are you here on your errand or are you sent by another?"
I couldn't get this question out of my head all morning because it seemed like the perfect metaphor for how I used to live my life. I thought that I was living my life "here on my own errand” and making conscious choices about all the things. I have come to find out there was something else at play. I think we can all agree that our past experiences have helped shape who we are, but to what extent? I believe it is far reaching.
I get asked often when I am being interviewed on podcasts, "Why is it so difficult to change?" There are many answers to this question. One answer is that those past experiences, particularly when we were young and malleable, formed how we experience this world. Those experiences told us what was "right" and "wrong," "good" and "bad," what was possible in this world, how people should behave, and how circumstances should be. This is how we created our expectations. All of this is mostly out of our awareness, which is why it is difficult to change, because if you don't know it is happening, how would you know to change it?
When I discovered that these past experiences were running the show, it was clear that I was "sent by another." It became clear that the life I was living was in response to my past experiences (conditioning by parents, family, teachers, elders, and society), and that if I was to live my life on my terms, based on what I wanted, I needed to discover who I was without those experiences. So, that is just what I did. I figured out why I make the decisions that I do, how to let go of that story that was making decisions for me, and how to trust in myself to know that I can enact change in my life.
Would you like to know what is going on behind the scenes of your life, and be here on your "own errand”? This is the work that I guide people in doing. What's the outcome? True freedom, no longer being at the mercy of people or circumstances to show up how you need, in order for you to feel good. Empowering yourself to create the enjoyment in your life, now, that you have always desired. Let's chat next week and see what we can discover. What works for you?
Peace, Erin "life on my terms: Mac
P.S. Another reason it is difficult to change is because it can seem scary, the unknown. Do something different, reach out. Excited to connect.