I had to get over my fear of running
through the world naked
and learn to say,
“Take me or leave me.”
~ Steven Spielberg
There is something about this quote that makes me smile, that makes me feel feisty and smart and strong, both of my feet planted firmly on the ground.Ā And look who said it! Mr. Spielberg is a world class film creator and director.Ā We would be minus some truly extraordinary films if he did not continually embrace the “take me or leave me” mantra.
Don’t we all have a fear of running through the world naked? Isn’t that the stuff that real nightmares are made of? Who wouldn’t be afraid of actually doing that (except, perhaps, for those “streakers” from the 60’s)?Ā Who wouldn’t be fearful of the vulnerability that this suggests?
And aren’t we all equally afraid of baring our hearts and our souls?
However, if I can manage to strip my inner being to the core, plant my feet firmly on the earth and say, “Okay, whoever is out there, THIS IS WHO I AM. TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME,” then I have empowered myself to embrace freedom; I have allowed myself the space to continue to grow into who I really am.
Questions to Ponder:
Is there a part of you who is hiding itself away for fear of being hurt?Ā Get in touch with that part of you. What does it really want to say … or do?Ā How does it want to express itself?Ā You might want to make a SoulCollageĀ® card for this part of you.
Is there another part of you that is ready (or getting ready) to stand up and say, “Take me or leave me?” to whoever needs to hear it?Ā Get in touch with this part of you also.Ā Find some images and make a card for your very own Take-Me-Or-Leave-Me Neter.
Invite these two parts of you to dialog with each other. For example, you might start like this:
Fearful/Vulnerable Self- I don’t know how you can be so self-assured.
Take Me Or Leave Me- It takes a little time, and a lot of self-love.
F/VS- What do you mean? I don’t know how to do that…
…and so on…
Or listen within and begin with whatever YOUR inner parts are saying.