It’s the truth that no matter where you are, well…there you are. You’re never lost because, as Captain Hammer would say “you home is where your heart is, so your real home’s in your chest.” However, there are many ways in which we can become confused and uncentered which leads us down paths we wouldn’t otherwise have taken. This is normal and just part of the complexity of being human. The good thing is that at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, we come up for air and start looking for our true selves. The not so good thing is that at times where we look and how we look can have negative consequences or just be downright silly.
Our culture trains us to not trust our bodies. The industrial revolution and the supremacy of the scientific method has created a cultural outlook that says all parts of everything are discrete, that the body is a machine that tends to fail at any given (random) time for no reason and that we shouldn’t trust it. It gives us a perspective that our bodies are a trap that the real person is stuck in and that we should do everything we can to keep this mechanism functioning fully. But we are not separate from our bodies. Our souls, our minds, our emotions and our bodies are all intricately linked, interdependent portions of our self. Our body is not a machine, but ourselves and it has a great deal of wisdom in it. Listening to it can tell you volumes about who you truly are and about the world around you. Accepting it as it is today can be a revelation that brings you back into sync with your true nature.
Living in a body also teaches us to use masks or roles to interact with the people and situations in our lives. This is a valid, dynamic, and enriching way in which to be in the world and can lead us through many an adventure or help us survive when a situation becomes dire. There are hundreds of thousands of children who have survived abuse because of it. However, we can get lost in the masks or come to think of the mask as who we truly are. The person underneath becomes obscured under the habits of a lifetime and we find ourselves saying “But this is just who I am”. Is it? Is it really? Who are you?
The reality is that you know who you are. You know in a way that our culture doesn’t support. It’s a way that doesn’t have words, has no forensic evidence, cannot be proved, and yet is more true that anything you can touch or see or smell. And you know that person more intimately that you will know anyone else. Because it has been and always will be you. You’re not lost. You’re in there. And if you get still for just a moment, close your eyes, and breathe, you’ll be yourself again.