Why Not Take A Chance on Faith and other Lessons by Jim Carrey

"My soul is not contained within the limits of my body, my body is contained within the limitlessness of my soul." 

These are the words by Jim Carrey that I keep repeating in my head. Watch this video of the highlights of his Commencement speech at Maharishi University of Management in 2014 if you haven't heard it before. You may not know it, but Jim Carrey (yes the actor) is so full of wisdom and this video has the power to change how you think, so do yourself a favour and spend the three minutes to watch it! 

Yesterday, I wanted to post that quote along with a photo of myself in the store to Instagram. I posted the photo and within 10 seconds of it being online, I took it down. 

In that few seconds of having the photo online, the feeling of overwhelm and self-judgment and fear of the judgement of others was too much. And the thoughts of "I can do better", "I can look prettier", "I can look more inspiring", "I am too old", "why are my eyes so wrinkly in photos, are they so wrinkly in real life?" (that one is my favourite) took over. So I did the only thing I could do when stress and anxiety takes over and took the picture down. 

And then I sat with the pain in that decision. The pain in deciding that what other people thought was more important than what I wanted to say. The pain in deciding that my photo wasn't pretty enough compared to the photos of others to receive as many likes. The pain in knowing that likes on Instagram determine my self worth. The pain in knowing that I put so much pressure on myself to make sure the Giving Gifts Instagram feed looks a certain way. 

And then I came back to my Jim Carey quote: 

"My soul is not contained within the limits of my body, my body is contained within the limitlessness of my soul." 

What if I learned to appreciate the beauty of my body? What if I could love it for serving me in such magnificent ways even when I was constantly insulting it, or pushing it, or resisting it, or wanting more from it? What if I could love it as it is, with no need to change a thing or want more from it. I reminded myself that even in my most critical moments when I would not have chosen it, it chose me. It chose to be the container for my dreams and aspirations, it chose to be the holder for my wishes and vision. It chose to serve me and continues to breath for me and run all the necessary systems for me, even when I can't even begin to comprehend what it is doing to make sure everything is perfect for me to keep living and thriving. I am in awe of my body and I owe it so many thanks. And really, if my soul is limitless, why do I even need to worry about the beauty of my body or my face? Shouldn't I be more worried about my beautiful soul? 

I know that when we push ourselves outside our comfort zone, that is the only way we grow and that each time I/we do, it gets easier for the next time. I also know that every time I do, and every time I share my truth, it gets easier for the women who come after me to do the same. We stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us, and I want to be the woman saying that I am brave, I am authentic, and I am proud of me! 

Jim Carrey says in this video that "our eyes are not viewers, they are projectors". We are constantly projecting what we want to see onto the world and seeing what we are projecting. It is circular and self-reinforcing. 

And he says that "so many of us live our lives in fear disguised as practicality." In a world where we are judged on our outward appearance, of course we are going to chose fear over and over again. It is easier not to post the picture and not to be judged. It is easier to like a beautiful touched-up picture of someone else than post a raw picture of myself. I too chose fear when I posted a photo and then took it right down. Fear is always the easier choice, but we are hiding from ourselves when we don't admit that fear is guiding our decisions and hide behind the veil of practicality and excuses.  

And then Jim Carrey says: "why not take a chance on faith?" and why not? Why not take a chance on love? Why not take a chance on sharing a real piece of yourself with the world and not caring how others respond? Why not take a chance on sharing yourself and not giving it a second thought or glance? Why not take a chance on saying what you truly feel? Why not take a chance on being an example to others? Why not take a chance on faith?  

And so I posted the photo. 

xoxo 

Love Lisa