Yesterday I posted a picture in The Overwhelmed Manager Facebook group, and other groups, with these words:
If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies, how very different our ideals of beauty would be.” ~ Unknown
........and it got a fair few likes and some comments. People resonated with the fact that beneath the person there is another, perfect being.
As a Social Care Manager I have encountered the struggles and situations many other managers find themselves in, a real rollercoaster of emotions.
However as a coach I have the privileged position of tapping people on the shoulder and being there to see them wake up, and it is beautiful. I see it in my clients all the time as they start to wake up to their own perfection, and truly understand the implications of a whole new experience of being alive. But this is not a post about how great I am, it IS a post about how great YOU are.
Don’t believe me? Imagine this:
Imagine you are a diamond and you have a pack of address labels.
Over the years you write something about yourself on each label. Something you think is true. Labels such as mother, brother, wife, boyfriend, employee, carer, manager etc. Then you start to write more personal labels, depressed, anxious, addicted, not good enough, failure. ......then tired, failed relationships, overwhelmed, can’t cope .
And as you write each label you carefully wrap the diamond. It quickly becomes obscured as more and more labels are added. Thousands upon thousands of them over many, many years You believe so fervently that you ARE these labels that these labels solidify and become fixed to each other, hardening to absolute certainty. Before long you naturally forget all about the diamonds existence. The labels make up the whole, and are all that is visible to the eye. But the thing about labels is that they are fragile. They can be ripped, torn, burnt and defaced and when this happens it is really painful. We turn to antidotes for the pain, alcohol, drugs, attention, and other addictive behaviours. And then one day, somebody gently, lovingly and joyfully explains to you the truth. And you suddenly see it for what it is .
You are, AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, the diamond.
And we know diamonds are tough, indestructible, and full of beauty and wonder. So much so that they are highly valued in society. You my friends are not who you think you are, not even close. Like the diamond you are whole, perfect and beautiful, desperately believing the lies that you are not. Martyn Dawes is a Coach, Social Care Consultant, and Author of The Overwhelmed Manager: What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do
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