speak your truth

The meek shall inherit the earth..." . Those of us raised in the Christian faith know this statement well. And for many of us, myself included, it was interpreted to mean that we should bite our tongue, hold our peace, and not rock the boat. We should be meek, gentle, and kind -- and keep quiet.

While of course, it is good to be gentle and kind, Jesus himself was not meek. I remember being rather shocked, as a child, at the image of Jesus creating havoc in the temple by throwing out the money-lenders. He definitely was not meek. He was also not meek when he spoke up about things he felt were wrong -- the people casting stones against sinners, the Pharisees, etc. He was not shy or meek about speaking his truth.

However, we, the students of the Christian church, has been taught to be meek, obedient, and mostly not to question authority. The priests (i.e. those in power) had the answers, and ours was not to question why.

Question Authority, Question Everything...

In this time of awakening, we must question everything. Is is true for us? Does it resonate within our being? Does it feel right? Is it supportive of "love thy neighbor as thyself"?

For too long, we have been fed pabulum -- we have swallowed the predigested "truth" that has been given to us with nary a question. We have not questioned (except for a few rebels in the pack), or if we have wondered about the "rightness" of things, we have not spoken up... for fear of ridicule, judgment, criticism, rejection, etc. I too have been "guilty" of this...


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Yet, for us to become "fully awakened" we must first awake to the reality of our life. We must stop accepting behavior that we feel is unacceptable -- either from ourselves, from the people around us, or from those in authority. However, it is important to "condemn" the behavior, not the person. We need to recognize and remember that all of us are "children of the Divine" and thus have within us the "blueprint" to be a loving and caring individual. By recognizing that truth in the people around us, we can help them see it as well -- and help them see that their present behavior does not "fit" the divine being they truly are.

Time to Speak Out and Speak Your Truth

When something is said in your presence that is "out of balance" then it is important to express yourself -- not with hatred, not with judgment, not even with anger. We need to speak from the Goodness within and ask the Source of inspiration within each and everyone of us to help us speak as is needed in each situation.

We need to start "speaking our truth" in our day to day lives. We can no longer afford to stand back and "let things be". This means being honest with ourselves, stepping out of denial, and seeing the state of things around us -- in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our cities, in our country, in our world, in our universe.

We need to "accept" (face up to) the facts. Then we need to see where we stand, and speak up whenever we can... speak to our friends, discuss what is going on, shed some light on situations that we find are unacceptable -- whether we are dealing with personal situations (work, home, friendships) or global.

We can no longer stand by with our head in the sand. If we do, one day we'll wake up and we'll be completely buried in the sand and we'll wonder what happened. An example of this takes place in certain relationships when one person "puts up" with unacceptable behavior, and one day wakes up to see that it has gotten out of hand.

Taking A Stand: One Step, One Word, One Action At A Time

It is time for us to take a stand for those things we believe in -- love, equality, justice, fairness, and respect. Respect for ourselves, for the people in our lives, for the world itself and everyone on it. Each and every one of us is "response-able" -- we are able to respond, we are able to make a difference.

I will close with a story (which you may have heard, but is still a great one)...

Speaking Your Truth: It Does Make a DifferenceTaking his morning walk on the beach, a man sees thousands of starfish washed ashore. The tide is going down and these starfish are stranded on the beach. The man sees, ahead of him, a child bending down, picking up something, and throwing it into the ocean. As he gets near, he sees that the child is picking up starfish, one by one, and throwing them back into the ocean.

The man says to the boy "There's so many starfish on the beach, you can't make a difference."

The boy looks at the adult and says nothing. He simply bends down and picks up another starfish and throws it back into the ocean. Then the child speaks and says "It made a difference to that one."

We too can make a difference to that "one". One step at a time, one word at a time, one action at a time. Even if our action seems very small to our own eyes, it make will a huge difference for "that one" which is directly affected.

Let us take our ability to respond, to speak, to love, and to make a difference and go out there and change our world, one thought, one word, one action at a time. We are not victims -- unless we choose to be. We are not powerless -- unless we give up our power to act. We are not too late -- unless we give up.

Asking Ourselves: What Can I Do?

Ask yourSelf what you can do to make a difference in your world... What you are inspired to do may seem small, or it may seem monumental. But if you act on your inner voice's guidance, you will feel rewarded beyond words. You will feel "on track" with your purpose.

Speaking our truth is part of living out our life purpose -- each time we hold back, we are holding ourselves back from becoming who we truly are and living out the purpose for which we came to earth... whatever that purpose is for each and everyone of us. For some it may be to make a difference in one life ("It made a difference to that one"), for others your touch may reach many...

Only you can hear your inner calling... listen to it... You can make a difference -- for that one, and that one, and ultimately for all of us.

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Love is Letting Go of Fear
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About The Author

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.

Creative Commons 3.0: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Attribute the author: Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com. Link back to the article: This article originally appeared on InnerSelf.com