There was a time in my life where I would look at the situation, the event, or the environment in which I would be interacting in and ask myself (subconsciously), “what hat shall I wear today?” Meaning, “which Eric shall I be today?”
This was filled with tons of energy as I answered internal questions such as, “who will be there?”, “what will be the subject during conversation?”, “should I bring the philosophical Eric or the religious Eric?”, “the funny Eric or the business first Eric?”, and the list goes on and on.
Have you been here? If you have, you understand the exhaustion that comes from the automated process, or paradigm. This exhaustion equates to the inability to serve others. You also understand that all of the hats decided upon were right, and all of them were wrong at the same time.
The goal in seeking out the perfect ‘energy’ hat in the first place was so that I would ensure I could meet the expectation of those around me. Wait, what??? That sounds ridiculous as I’m writing it. But, it’s so true and I did not realize this was the cause until an amazing human-being lovingly brought it to my attention.
Me not living up to other people’s expectations, or even my unrealistic expectations, resulted in frustration within me. Interesting that frustration is where this extra energy manifests because is that not exactly what occurs in us when we are unable to pick out the perfect outfit, we become frustrated?
Once I realized that I was wearing multiple hats per day, I asked myself this one question; “how can I bring Eric [the same Eric. the authentic Eric. the Eric I’m created to be] into every part of my life? My marriage? My parenting? My work? My friendship? My errand-running? My driving? My everything….”?
The answer? Just be. I did not understand this at the time, but it eventually became clearer. I possess greatness within me. You possess greatness within you. We are greatness. We have everything we need to balance situations we are interacting in, just by being ourselves. We have potential to change lives, simply by being, not by attempting to hide under a hat picked out by another.
There are still times I run into my internal closet and grab the “I am right hat”, however I am wearing it for shorter periods of time. This is progress and I celebrate this progression. I randomly will say out loud, “how can I bring Eric into this?”, and I always end up on “just be”. I am finding more and more that my “being” fits nicely into the equation, while requiring less energy in the process.
This saved energy is what allows us to give to others. The giving is offered because in our “being-ness” we offer balance and value to others, and they to us. There is always someone out there that can use our gifts, and in sharing our gifts (our being), we are able to truly connect and empower others to just be. A powerful paradigm shift!
We are human beings and once we decide to ‘be human’, amazing things happen to and around us. Today I ask you, what would life be like if you were to bring YOU into everything you do? Trade in your “what hat shall I wear today?” for “how can I just be?”
In this being, you offer others to join you. Pretty soon, human connections are occurring through human “beings”.
Be well, Be love,
Eric
