Accomplishment and Liberation

Last week in class, we talked a lot about the idea of true accomplishments vs empty accomplishments and the freedom that come from seeking the former. A true accomplishment is something that speaks to your soul, something that makes the world better, and helps you to feel empowered, inspired, and excited. An empty accomplishment is something that feeds your ego like getting 1,000 likes on a Facebook page, buying things you don't need, or something along those lines.

The way this conversation began, is that I was in my car thinking about a contest that I'm putting together that I'm truly excited about because it will help to spread awareness and understanding for an issue that I'm passionate about. Suddenly my mind went from the reason I started this contest to, "I wonder how many Instagram followers I'll have by the end," and I realized that I had become far too concerned with that. Subsequently I had the aha moment that I don't really want that. I don't care how many likes, follows, or whatevers I have, I care about substance. I care about constantly growing and connecting with the people that I teach and bringing joy into the studios that I am lucky enough to be a part of.

Suddenly I felt liberated. I didn't need to be worried about these untangible things that feed my ego and temporarily make me feel like I'm getting somewhere or have done something, I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, have patience, and enjoy the process. So I invite you to take a moment this week and just think about anything that you've been chasing that maybe you don't need, and replace that with something that makes your heart sing, and then go out there and go for it!

"The other war is the war not to conquer but the war to become whole and at peace inside our skins. It is a war not of conquest but of liberation because the object of this other war is to liberate that dimension of selfhood which has somehow become lost... this other war is the war to become a human being."

-Frederick Buechner from Listening to Your Life