Going from Wellness to Overwhelm-ness

For a long time the media has been pretty loud and clear with its advertising to let us know how we need to look, how much to weigh, and how to get more of what we want if we would only just appear to be a natural-looking, young, athletic, upper-middle class, tech-savvy citizen with perfect, pearly-white teeth.

And for a while now, the internet has continued to churn readable content tailored to let us know exactly what top five things we should eat, things we should stop saying, products we need to avoid, places we should never avoid, and how we have been doing something totally wrong for years and an expert will show us how things should be done right.

Especially if we are reading social media feeds such as what is found on FaceBook or Twitter, articles with these types of titles are constantly scrolling by. Whether we click the links to read the content or not, even if it’s maybe just a few wellness articles here and there, what we “should” do, “need” to do, or “have to stop” doing, makes its way into our consciousness.

Personally, what I am expected to look like, and what I am expected to say, do, think and behave like, and furthermore be corrected for, according to what advertisements and article titles project out to me, sounds completely exhausting.

All of this unsolicited criticism is designed to push my buttons about inadequacy to get a click and a quick read. I have my buttons pushed by other things going on in the world while I am living my life! I would prefer to give attention to what I am being great at and do more of that.

While I do believe that many of these wellness articles do intend to be helpful; cumulatively, the titles and content at face value can generate negative feelings. The aggregate messages of the sensationalist media might have us thinking that none of us have control of our own life, and we’re all likely to be imbeciles living life wrong.

Or perhaps fingers are being pointed to say that everyone else is wrong and dysfunctional. In any case, if what I did day-after-day was scroll past the titles of the articles only and nothing more, the words nag and poke. It can really begin to feel oppressive.

My core audience is an assortment of amazing people who actively pursue wellness, personal development and spiritual expansion. Many of us belong to similar groups that promote positive self-image and uplifting, encouraging themes to apply to our lives.

We are also the perfect target market for wellness articles that would like to put in our face just how “inadequate we are” compared to something out there, and I am unsure what that something even is. Whatever it is, it must be pretty urgent that it all gets fixed. The bombardment is constant.

I am grateful that many of us in this circle are aware of how to mitigate some of the negative and discouraging fabrications. We do this by adjusting our personal feeds to include more positive, productive, nurturing images and subject matter.

I am hoping that much of the, “you should/you need/you have to” culture on the internet is probably largely disregarded within my circle, but then again, is it?

When the path to wellness starts to push buttons of inadequacy and unworthiness it is no longer a path to wellness

On our quest to be as good as we can be to ourselves and to other people; the journey isn’t always green grass, baby animals and pictures of a terrifically executed yoga pose. The constant striving to improve; tweaking this or that, and to be a little more, “yes” and a lot more, “no”, and smile more, feel happy, attract more love, think positive, be mindful, quiet the mind, come up with goals, step out of your comfort zone, stay aligned, stop missing out and then sleep better – it is nothing short of madness. Being adversely overwhelmed by wellness is not a path to wellness!

My role as a spiritual teacher and guide is not to present to you “what you are doing wrong.” My role is also not to intentionally impress upon you that you are in any way faulty or incompetent.

I am here as a partner to share inspiration and encouragement. I am here to acknowledge that the path you are taking is exactly where it needs to be, and that life unfolds in an extraordinary process.

The messages of the oracles, the Tarot or the stars above, illuminate possibilities from perpetual Abundance. Not from Fear, Shame, Neediness or desires to correct regrets from the past.

If there is any important thing to do on our journey with personal development it is to keep a balanced perspective about who we really are.  Personal development at its core, is about expanding our wisdom and experience to rediscover ourselves as an extension of Abundance, and venture ahead with this knowledge to create our bliss.

What wellness and personal development was all about in the first place

You may hear this far too infrequently but I would like to tell you that you are enough. The sheer conscious effort you put into every day to be a good person is good enough.

We strive, we struggle, we fall hard sometimes. I can assure you that just as a baby is brought into this world and is perfect, whole, and complete as you look at them simply being… they are enough in their beautiful bodies, and are made of the same light as you are.

It is a likely chance that you have someone in your life who is unconditionally precious to you. They are enough. And just the same, you are unconditionally loved and precious to someone in your world. You are enough to them.

I see in every person –  your beauty and your Light. You are enough that you do not have to earn any right to feel good about yourself. You are a welcome part of this world and you belong. You are enough and you have what it takes to make it.

You are worthy of receiving love and healing. You are a good person. A good soul, inside and out. Your intelligence knows what love is. It was all that was ever required to significantly impact your life or someone else’s. Thank you for being you. Thank you for sticking things out. You are genuinely and truly, enough.

Blessings,