Throat Chakra

Summary

The article discusses the challenges of self-identity and storytelling when one lacks healthy role models, leading to a fragmented self-image akin to looking into a shattered mirror.

Abstract

The author reflects on the difficulty of crafting a cohesive personal narrative when faced with the internal struggle of piecing together a self-concept without the guidance of wholesome role models. This struggle is compounded by societal pressures, particularly for women in American culture, to maintain a consistent and polished image. The author acknowledges the absurdity of this pressure and the exhaustion that comes from trying to present a perfected version of oneself. The piece emphasizes the importance of embracing one's true story, with all its imperfections, and the wisdom in knowing when to listen to oneself and when to share one's voice. The author advocates for the practice of making mistakes and starting over as a path to self-acceptance and authenticity.

Opinions

The author believes that the lack of healthy role models can lead to a distorted and incomplete self-view, akin to looking into a broken mirror.
There is a critique of the societal expectation to convey a specific, unchanging image, which the author finds to be an absurd and exhausting demand.
The piece suggests that the process of trying to maintain a particular image is a waste of valuable life energy and contributes to an aversion to self.
The author expresses the importance of telling one's true stories, despite the difficulty and vulnerability involved in both sharing and listening to one's own voice.
There is an emphasis on the value of making mistakes and the

Throat Chakra

If our stories define us, it seems wise to check in and ensure they’re actually our own.

As I return after much hiatus to writing and recording, I’m once again caught in the trap of image. Feeling each story exuding a particular, unchanging message. Each one a stand alone image rather than a facet of the journey. Like I have to convey a specific image in order to get the point of a story to hold weight and relevance.

How absurd.

There’s many reasons for this, especially from a woman steeped in American culture, but the the crucial one I keep returning to is the sensation of being shattered. It’s a concept I came up with once upon a time when I was attempting to describe what not having healthy role models does to the self-view of a formulating mind to another person who had the great fortune to be a well-rounded individual, supported and openly loved by their family. If our families, particularly our parents, are our models for the world — and that world starts with ourselves — then not having those models is like trying to look into a mirror that’s shattered. Every piece is distorted and incomplete; there is no one image to pull from nor in which to center. There is no sense of wholeness nor health. It’s looking into a broken mirror — jarring, jagged, and there’s never anything beyond fragments of the image you can only assume is there. It’s unsettling, fear-inducing, and oh so very exhausting trying to pick out the aspects of the self with such a viewpoint.

We were not designed to be Humpty Dumpties.

I’m recognizing the aversion to self this creates while simultaneously creating a deeply rooted attachment to the process of scrambling for pieces. What a drain to our precious selves, what a waste of our valuable lives. We don’t need these things to happen.

Telling our true stories is almost as fraught as hearing our own voices down inside us. Knowing when to listen and when to speak are skills for the wise we’ve heard and it’s made me a believer. I’m practicing the art of making mistakes and starting again. I hope you are, too.

I wish you strength in your journey.