Several years ago, I attended a writing workshop by author Heather
Cariou called “Standing in Your Truth.” Heather talked about how the act of
claiming our truths requires a level of self-honesty that can be devastating in
its consequences, because it may make us face facts about ourselves that aren’t
attractive, and that we may have a vested interest in keeping hidden, even from
ourselves.
In that workshop, I got to a level of truth that rocked me to
my core. I chose to claim that truth rather than to hide from it. And that
decision changed my life in ways I could never have imagined.
I discovered that truth begets truth.
The more I claim my shadow self, the more real I become, to
myself and to those around me. The more I accept the darkness in me, the more
able I am to claim the light.
So I’m on a personal journey of recovery and discovery, and
I’m finding it the adventure of a lifetime.
If you want to know more, you can read an excerpt from a
recent personal essay in which I claim one of the many truths that have recently
claimed me.
Let me know what you think. And if you’re on your own
journey, I’d love to know what you are learning about your own truths. This is
one expedition that, while inevitably taken alone, can use the encouragement of
other travelers along the way.
