Be notorious
“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious,” Rumi says.
The rebel in me loves this line! Nothing to fear. Everything to fear. Thing is, when I am fully alive, show up, real, I will inevitably be disliked. And I dislike that. A lot.
Daring to be - accountable and responsible, clear and loving - scares the part in me (and others) that prefers the guardrails of unquestioned values, societal approvals, rules. When we live on the edge, with our work, applying our skill, experience, purpose, wisdom right with who we are, blame, envy, fear, criticism will arise.
So what. How shall we respond. We could take it personally, feel offended, defensive.
Or we could be like the Stoics, Zen masters, Rumi. Recognizing a deeper core in us ever unperturbed: Integrity. Welcoming the dislike internally, externally, and say “Is that so?” Loving what is. Learning from what is. Nothing personal.
Have you ever woken up needing a moment to "re-assemble" yourself? Have you ever suspected that what you think is you might be a construct? This you is the part that feels defensive, offended.
It's a story. The story of me. The story of you.
Our sense of self, "my" reputation, all built on story. We take it seriously. But it's exhausting: Every moment we have to ensure that the story is properly assembled for general approval. Yikes. No wonder we hurt quickly. This assembled me is a bit fragile.
Surrender then. The relief of letting go. My wellbeing nor the quality of my work are tied up with such identification. Which labels are not serving me? To thank them with kindness, and dissolve them. What, after all, is the cost of holding on?
It takes tremendous courage to move beyond. But do so, and you will begin to love a stable, unwavering center. A core that can never be harmed.
We have choices. So many choices. Let's play and do cool things with story. Great things! Safe, even as we forget all safety! It is up to us to choose and use our "selfing" stories wisely, with a lot of humor and humility.
How will you play this week, with choices, this selfing, dropping labels?
Thanks as always for choosing to read this: I do not take it lightly. And so my intent is for these writings to serve as a compass (for all of us) to wake up, wisen up, show up. A mix of resources, links to articles, and quotes, a question to lean into, an invitation or an announcement. It's an ongoing experiment: Your thoughts are welcome.Together we soar wider, and grow our impact for good 10x. With gratitude, sophia.
