Did You Know That Most of Us Are Never Naked?
Today I’m excited to share with you guys this amazing Author, Psychotherapist and Meditation Guru I came across within the last few weeks. I am always looking for ways to be the best version of myself.
This particular author really hit home for me. Her name is Tara Brach. All of her content is inspiring, retrospective, and exhilarating, but there is one story in particular in which she shares that just absolutely gave me goosebumps. This story is about, what she calls, the “Trance of Unworthiness” and the part that gave me goosebumps is when she speaks about a breathtaking Buddha structure in Thailand.
Ok, so let’s get into it. I hope you guys love this as much as I do!
In 1957, a group of monks were relocated toThailand. One day they were moving a giant clay Buddha that had been through wars, storms - through the works and back.
One monk noticed a large crack and decided to investigate. Upon closer examination, he noticed a gold light emanating from underneath. After cleaning and chipping away at the clay he revealed that the Buddha was constructed of solid gold.
The clay was said to cover the Buddha in order to protect it from any harm.
Every time I read about this Buddha I get chills! How amazing is that?! After so many years of experiencing war and extreme weather conditions, this Buddha survived everything. And underneath it all was this beautiful golden structure.
I love this so much because it reminds me of the world around me. I know for myself that over the years I’ve layered myself with a covering, similar to the Buddha, to avoid difficult times and variations of pain and suffering. No one wants to have their flaws out on display. So when we meet new people or do our best to fit in, we become this idealized version of ourselves in order to give people what we think they want. That doesn’t always mean that it makes us happy, but it protects us and shields us from pain, suffering, and failure.
Unfortunately, after a certain period of time we forget that there’s this beautiful and whole structure underneath this covering. We’ve worked so hard to cover up who we are that we forget all about this golden structure because we always hold onto the fear of falling short and never being enough.
I love when Tara Brach says “the suffering is that we become identified with the spacesuit and forget who is looking through the mask.” I think that resonates with me so well because there have been times where I’ve felt like I’ve forgotten who I am. And that’s why I love the saying “Beauty Is You”. I love everything that it represents and embodies - It’s meant to promote change and confident self love. To me it’s all about being in love with the version that’s hidden underneath the covering and letting that version of yourself truly shine over.
For years people pushed the old, cracked Buddha aside because it was hiding the real beauty - the beauty within. I find that we protect ourselves constantly through difficult times, much in the same way that the Buddha did. But what I want to heavily emphasize is that there is no need for this “expression of emotional pain” as Tara Brach calls it. I want to emphasize this because there is nothing that you cannot handle.
“What would it be like if I could accept life - accept at this exact moment - exactly as it is?” - Tara Brach
