Anam Nostos House Blog

Manifest adjective: clear or obvious to the eye or mind.

Do you consider this word within your life?
Do you understand the depth of its meaning?

When we walk through life, we must own our part in our journey. We can come from trauma, circumstance and story that is beyond recognizable to others, but in the end, we determine our outcome.

You are the author of your journey! You hear it often, but do you really take it in?

If you walk through your day thinking or even vocalizing that today is going to be the worst day, then it will be. 

If you walk through your day exclaiming what you want out of that day...well, watch what you can make happen going forward. 

Ask yourself what you want in life and then speak it.
Ask yourself what you want from yourself, then take the actions to make it happen.

It is your journey, no one else's. When we get caught up in thinking about what others may 'owe' us then we lose sight of what is ours to own. It is not in a resolution or predesigned program to change the outcome of your life or personal well-being. It begins with you first, and always.

How will you take back your journey?

What does it mean to accept someone's space?
How do you show up and honor someone's presence?

Conformity is real. We ask people to conform to this time of year without consideration for their journey. We wave off personal pain, fractured healing and grief thinking it would be impossible to not to see the beauty, joy, and love around them in what tends to be a festive time of year. We put our impressions before their true experiences. We need to stop.

One of the most common phrases we hear often, 'everyone is walking a journey we know nothing about,' gets thrown around so lackadaisical that I think we have begun to dismiss its depth of truth. 

I speak often of stories. We are all walking through stories with a mandala of emotions that we cannot assume to understand. Nor is it your job to 'make it better.' Accepting one's space that they are showing up in is the greatest gift. To say, 'I see you, I hear you,' and honoring their presence while in this space not trying to repair, heal or make light due to your own uncomfortable feelings is the challenge to face right now.

Not everyone comes to the room in the same emotional space. Remember to embrace who they are in this moment and make them feel welcome. This space and presence are where they need to be right now; your acceptance and welcome is walking them back into the circle to feel less alone.

Merton truly states a truth with this sentiment. Our whole being, our whole story is who we are and what we need to incorporate into our daily conversations. Our lives are made of countless pieces, stories and curiosities. Our being is who we are deeply and intimately. We should never shy away from this truth. Our being is our soul, our story within is the journey we walk and the journey that will leave a mark when we die. Don't wait until the last moment to share your being, your story, your soul with the closest person on your journey. Live in this moment, be whole in this moment and own your truth in this very moment that is asking everything of you today.