Who Do You Want To Be Today?

I've begun thinking of the experience of being human as a game I get to play.

I believe that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. I know that my true nature, the essence of who I am, my essential self — whatever you want to call it — is always there. And it’s in this human body which is capable of doing all these amazing things. So why not enjoy it?

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

— George Bernard Shaw —

I’ve started putting more time and energy into cultivating a life with more fun, adventure, love and connection and above all, a lot more joy.

A few years ago I read The Desire Map by Danielle Laporte. The premise of the book is that you get to choose how you feel. And once you choose how you want to feel in a given hour, day, month or year, then you make choices that align with that. If you want to feel joy, then do things that make you feel joyful.

So each night as I plan the following day I think about how I want to feel. And while there are things I need to get done, I can decide how I want to feel while I’m doing them. I’ve decided to enjoy each day. No matter what.

“You get to decide every moment of every day: who you are and what you believe in. You get a second chance in every second.”

— Unknown —

I believe that we can also get to choose how we show up as well. That we get to decide who we are going to be as our human selves each day. And that can change. As we wake up each morning, we can literally make a choice and then put on the metaphorical costume — or the literal costume if that’s your thing — that goes with that.

One morning I might decide to be a goddess so I imagine what a goddess would walk like, talk like, think like and emulate that. Or I might want to embody super woman so I do some power poses and imagine I have a cape trailing behind me throughout my day. Because why not? What’s stopping you? And what are you missing out on by not being deliberate about how you show up?

“Identity would seem to be the garment with which one covers the nakedness of the self: in which case, it is best that the garment be loose, a little like the robes of the desert, through which one’s nakedness can always be felt, and, sometimes, discerned. This trust in one’s nakedness is all that gives one the power to change one’s robes.”

— James Baldwin —

I love the idea of letting children choose what they want to wear in the morning and then seeing how that plays out. It feels like they wear their hearts literally on their sleeves. How they feel and how they want to be that day shows up in how they choose to adorn themselves. A pink tutu over green leggings with a rainbow striped shirt, yellow shoes and a bright pink rain coat? Why not? If that’s what you’re feeling today then fly that flag and be that person.

We spend much of our adulthood trying to remember what it was like to be children. The wonder, curiosity and playfulness that children naturally have before we “grow up”. Why not expedite that process by putting on something that makes you feel a little whimsical today? And then decide how you want to feel, do things that align with that and see where it leads.

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