“You are not here to teach or even guide, you are here to embody,” Ashmi Pathela.  I like this as a follow up to yesterday’s conversation because this is exactly in line with it.  We aren’t here to purposely show people how to be because that implies we know everything or how people “should” do something.  Rather we are meant to live how we are, on a path and in a way that feels right for us and people who need some inspiration or help along the way can witness our example. We are simply here to show others that there are different ways to do things, ways that align with who we are that don’t necessarily fall in the conventional box.  The purpose of our journey is to live it, it isn’t to repeat someone else’s destiny, or someone’s idea of how it should be done. 

I don’t entirely agree with the opening sentiment that we aren’t here to teach.  I agree with the idea that we aren’t meant to teach exactly what we do or insinuate that our way is the best.  Teaching means different things.  We are meant to use our way as a guide so we are, in fact, teachers.  We are all teachers.  The embodiment of who we are is the lesson to others and that is the point of what we share: the ability to embody who we are and embrace it without fear, shame, or reservation.  We don’t necessarily have to guide people on our path, but we can guide them to follow their own and our journey can be an example.  Regardless of the path we are on we tend to face similar obstacles. Knowing how to navigate those things is useful.

It doesn’t have to be our mission to teach everyone what we are doing and how we do it.  It simply needs to be our mission to live our lives in the greatest alignment with who we are, in the greatest alignment with our purpose, and in the greatest alignment with joy.  Doing those things will shine like a million flashlights in the dark.  Being who we are is a force in itself.  We make that complicated because we are trained to put on a show from the time we are children.  We emphasize fitting in over uniqueness.  I’ve said before there was a time when fitting in literally meant death—but we are beyond that not even if our instincts are still confused.  Learning to live up to our own expectations eliminates that confusion and noise.  It isn’t about putting on a show or making a production of who we are—it’s simply living as we are to the fullest.