Defy Expectations - Be Your Own Truth
Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” In our last post, Shann Vander Leek shared her journey of finding the goddess within her own self. Today, one of my (Angela's) very own heroines, Desiree Adaway, challenges us to defy expectations and be our own truth.
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You are not your wound, your weakness, or your resume. You are not your pain. You are not your job. You are not your income, your parents, your children, your partner, your community, or your circumstances. Sometimes we have too much faith in these things, these illusions. Our lives are not defined by these circumstances or by others. Those things may be facts… they are not always truth. Who are you? Are you fact or are you TRUTH? This has been the hardest lesson of my life. To let go of the labels, boundaries, and stories to get clear about who I am. Not the stuff I own or the circumstances that I have helped to create through action or inaction, but to get clear about WHO I am and the gifts I have to share. What does it take for us as humans to feel full…satiated…satisfied…safe….whole? In the past it has been about filling up something deep within some place in our soul that we think one more flat screen TV or 1,000 additional square feet will help fill. In reality, it’s about unlocking the key to gain access to the “good news." Beyond your exterior lies an interior that is so dazzling and powerful that it can transform lives. This place within shows us that we can love more, accomplish more, do more, and be more. The light that shines shows the way. It shows the TRUTH. To see this in ourselves we have to see it in others. Empowerment is a two way street. I cannot be whom I am supposed to be, if you are not who you are supposed to be. If my sister is not safe, then I am not safe. Her lack of safety reveals my own insecurity at a deeper level. We become in people's presence that which they expect us to be. People may want to hold you to your past””hold on to an old story, an old fact- an old judgment. I no longer let them. My opinion of self can not come from others. That source of power and light, of greatness, must come from me or it will not come at all So I defy expectations””if they expect weakness, I am strong. If they expect less””I give more. I let them know who I am. I am more than fact. I am TRUTH. About Desiree: Desiree is a consultant, strategist, coach, speaker, storyteller, and explorer. She uses her superpowers-her voice, sense of adventure, and belief in the transformative power of community-to help organizations design programs that create unrestricted revenue, volunteers, and advocates. You can find out more about her at www.desireeadaway.com, or follow her on Twitter at @desireeadaway .