Shedding shells: letting go of everything that's not you

We are so afraid of being nothing.

Throughout our lives, we've created an extensive number of layers that protect our most vulnerable self. The core reason behind all the negativity we experience is the distance we (unconsciously) placed between who we think we are and our true selves. If you feel anxiety, fear, insecurity, jealousy, anger, rage, and especially, the pride that often times even keeps us from acknowledging the flaws we have, this might be a result of a disconnecting from your true self.

Much has been said about a higher self. A better self. A better person. But it so easy to seek an idea of "better" that is promoted by what we see around us. Many cultural aspects, and I'm not going to blame just the media; but the people we coexist with also makes us constantly wonder how inferior we are, and how much room for improvement there is.

We may work throughout our lives on achieving the things we believe will make us become better people. The real problem, however, is when these convictions come not from our hearts, but from our minds.

They may come from a wounded heart. There is so much pain in this world. We are constantly dealing with a stream of what feels like endless being, be it our own or of those ones around us. These negative feelings pass through us. They will always affect us.

When you seek to get in touch with who you really are, you will notice you have done a damn good job at creating a series of mechanisms to ascertain what you believed was the best way to survive. To stay alive. To experience pleasure.

My proposal: practice brutally honest self-investigation. Take advantage of your active mind to increase your focus on self-analysis. Start wondering why you do the things you do. Pay a lot of attention to why you react the way you react. Don't settle for "just because". That is surrendering to the bliss of ignorance. It will keep you further away from the light that is trying to come through you. There's a certain "feeling" every time you get to a true answer, to all the questions regarding your behavior and your reality. Seek that feeling. There are answers. Answers that will solve all the burden that keeps you from experiencing ever lasting joy. I know that sounds impossible, and I admit I haven't gotten there myself. But I can already get the feeling that it is true, it is possible, and one must keep with this investigative process in order to achieve it.