14 Truths Every Soul-Searching Seeker Should Know.
It starts as your eyes dart across your first soul-swept source of inspiration, and soon enough you find yourself lost in a whole new world of perspective.
Curiosity is at an all-time high, and a new-found zest for life is itching to break free. You’re done with gossip, the bullshit and the stress, and with just that simple declaration, a new door has opened, giving you a tiny glimpse of a different way of being, one that you can’t just ignore.
The questions start rolling through your mind, and you begin to catch yourself thinking and pondering on this life of yours, more so than ever.
Your intuition is screaming at you, There has to be a better way, and you’ve finally decided to listen and let your intrigued and curious heart explore what it means to live a life no longer driven by fear, ego or society, but one that thrives on passion, love and meaning. You’re keen to to dive in, and soak up every bit of wisdom you can.
I don’t blame you, I recall this feeling making its divine debut in my life way back when. It’s inspiring and awakening, and ever so mysterious, through a path that never does quite match the expectations we hold at the beginning. Though, all great things never really do.
Here are a few truths that I know I certainly didn’t anticipate at the beginning of this ever-evolving journey through health, life and love. Perhaps they might just be the truths to help you steer your own:
1. You will never find the answer to your question. You will simply become more and more content with never knowing.
This has been the biggest lesson of all. The more I learn, the more my eyes open to the gifts before me, the more I have come to understand that what I seek to love, embrace, explore and feel is a never-ending journey. With every moment of realization comes another opportunity to shed another layer and go deeper.
Everything can make perfect sense one minute, and not at all the next. You will continue to question everything you believe in and all that you stand for. But that right there is exactly what keeps us in our seeker high.
I once heard Tara Bliss say that her mission in life is simply to get to know herself each and every day. This resonates with me so much, and whilst it will be my mission my whole lifetime, nothing gives me more happiness than knowing that I will never quite reach the end of this magical adventure.
2. Once you pop, you can’t stop. And similarly, once you learn, you can never unlearn — and you simply don’t want to.
Awareness is a very powerful thing. And once your awareness has been shifted over to the work that you are meant to do in this life, or the inner workings of your precious soul, there is no escaping. You are now a member of life, for life. Welcome to the gang!
3. Despite perceiving the stages of growth of those around you as behind or ahead of you, there is no race. In fact, there is no ahead or behind. You are your only source of measure.
I fell for this trap early on. I visually measured my own spirituality, health, and self-awareness on a scale of 0 to 10, and lined up all of my teachers, inspirations, and role models around me on that scale. I saw them as having something I didn’t.
Something I was yet to acquire, instead of understanding that I already had everything I needed within me, and that everything would be revealed to me as i was ready to receive.
Your journey is exactly that — your journey. You can seek guidance and support from those around you, but they will never know the profound, deep shifts that resonate in your soul. As you will not know theirs. Knowing what this journey means to you, and completely embracing your own personal story, is the only way to live.
4. The less you do, the more you will achieve.
This was a hard one for me, and making the daily changes required to slowly break free from the head-down-bum-up, read-every-resource-you-can, do-do-do mentality is still an ongoing process. But when you do it right, it’s like a wave of clarity, purpose and revelation comes washing over you.
Feel before thinking. Be before doing. Know what it feels like to live this journey. Because otherwise you are simply watching from the sidelines.
5. Silence is golden.
Space is your friend here, in every sense of the word. Space in your surroundings. Space in your schedule. Space in between conversations. Space in between actions. Coming home to yourself is not about filling your life with more. It’s about getting rid of the excess so you can finally have space to see things for what they are.
Being present in what is at that very moment. And leaning into the uncomfortable, awkward silence that shines light on your bare truths. Soon, you will have it no other way.
6. It can be brutally lonely.
In that period of transformation where everything is being questioned, so are your friendships and relationships. And though change is inevitable, and it is through making space in our life that we can receive the new, there is always going to be a time of stillness in our life that has us feeling a little alone in our journey.
It can be hard. In fact, I recall many nights in tears, desperate for people who would understand my desire for deeper connection and resonance. But, they always come. And when they do, the joy and light that comes from these pure angels is nothing short of a miracle. Hang in there, babe. Your soul sisters are looking for you too.
In fact, why don’t you be the seeker you are and get yourself out there and show people the amazing soul you are? Immerse yourself in the circles you wish to dance in. Introduce yourself to those who you aspire to connect with. Use your loneliness as a springboard into connections you have always dreamed of. They’ll be incredibly grateful that you did.
7. You will never be bored again.
Living in the now is your ticket to never-ending adventure, and I can honestly say that I haven’t felt bored in a very long time. Life is my playground, and as long as I am living my truth, every minute holds opportunity, growth and possibility.
8. You will lose yourself and then find yourself more times than you can count.
As soon as you start to feel like you have it all figured out, you can bet that the Universe has something new and out of left field to deliver. As soon as it all starts to make sense, a new door opens that blows it all out of the water and has you questioning everything you have ever believed in.
But that’s what’s so magical about it. The constant cycle of renewal and rebirth. That deep understanding that nothing will ever stay the same, and we will always be hand-balled an opportunity to once again wake up, be inspired and remember who we are. For that, right there, is when we feel most alive!
9. You will often need to come out of your little bubble to truly understand how far you have come.
I’m guilty of this. I get lost in my little world of wellness and forget that not everybody lives this way. I let my expectations mirror this, and I forget that whilst this may feel like my norm now, it wasn’t always this way.
We can curse the moments when we find ourselves disconnected and surrounded by those who don’t understand or respect the practices we now cherish, but it is in these moments that we can truly celebrate how much we have grown.
10. Just because you’re making changes on the inside, doesn’t mean you have to make changes on the outside.
Let me make this clear — being present, self-aware and valuing your health does not mean you have to go get yourself a pair of Birkenstocks, buy a meditation cushion and become vegan! Nor do you have to ditch the makeup, spend your pay at Lorna Jane, or always walk the street with a smile from ear to ear.
Your journey, your life, your way. If you’re in it to fit in, then you’re doing it wrong!
11. It can be both the most rewarding and heartbreaking journey of your life.
Some days this journey of self-awareness and exploration will leave you feeling full to the brim with joy, empowerment and vitality. And others will almost break you. With deep self-inquiry comes answers to questions we may not expect, believe or want to hear — yet if you choose to ask, you have to be prepared to hear the answer.
Your intuition always wins, so if you choose not to hear it now, you can be sure it will persist, and one day you have no choice but to listen. Getting to know your truth can be a very revealing process, and it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.
12. You will have not choice but to be vulnerable…
… If you choose to really live. To connect. To feel. To experience the life-altering shifts that lie before you. Vulnerability is the key to a life of heart-opening, raw, honest love, and once you have had a taste of its power, anything less will leave you deeply unfulfilled.
13. You will learn to love fear.
And whilst you might not want to admit it, you will start to crave the way she stretches you into new dimensions and tests your foundations. You will see fear as the invitation she is to live deeper, widen your scope of vision, and readjust your level of comfort.
Fear begins to symbolize the start of new adventure, the starting line for new thrills and spills, and everything your seeker heart knows will turn out for the best.
14. Self-love really is the foundation of everything you desire.
Self-love allows you to peel back the layers of trust and faith. Self-love becomes both your cause and treatment, the purpose of your self-inquiry and the medicine you use to get through.
Love, in all its forms, is always at the root of every desire, and as we spend our life seeking for it outside of ourselves, we soon come to realize that it has always been within us. It is the type of love that trumps all others, and unlocks all the wonders we will ever seek.
So, seek within for love first and foremost, and know that with self-love will come a lifetime of never-ending peace and contentment.
*****
Tara Caetano is a certified coach, speaker and writer who mentors daring women with bad-ass dreams to take the leap and make this life their bitch. A world-wanderer and passionate ocean-child, she shares delicious inspiration and advice with her online Feed Me community, as well as on Facebook andInstagram. Get on the love list for a weekly buffet of inspiration straight to your inbox.