January 2010 - Fountain of Youth
Facial cream, hair dye, Botox injections, plastic surgery: modern day substitutions for the Fountain of Youth?
The other day in the shower (where all of my best ideas drop in), I had a flash about the real secret of youth. It's not something you can pour out of a bottle or have injected into your cheeks. I believe the true gift comes from retrieving and loving younger parts of yourself - the"little ones" within you.
If you've participated in an Emotional Re-Education weekend or What's Next?! Workshop,you've witnessed this phenomenon. After honoring some younger self within, the face simply glows. People literally look years younger,and I believe it's because they integrated a "younger self" in a meaningful and loving way, reviving personal vitality in the process.
Allof us start as tiny, vulnerable beings completely dependent on the adults around us. Without their care, we would not survive. Yet, many of us witnessed our parents fighting, and felt terrified. Or maybe everyone was too busy to pay attention, and the loneliness became a companion more familiar than any person. Whatever the circumstances of your formative years, most of us have some hurt and scared parts that we don't acknowledge, let alone attend to.
I remember believing that I could make my mom happy. I thought, in my two-year-old body, I had power over her feelings. If you hear a voice inside saying, "well, you probably DID make her happy," note the flaw. If I could make her happy, then logically, I must also be responsible when her anger, fear, frustration, and sadness surfaced. How can any two year old (or 4, 9, 13, etc.) be responsible for another person's feelings?
For 30+ years I walked the earth thinking I could make someone feel. When the responsibility felt like a burden, my own anger rushed to the surface to push away the fear of the power I thought I wielded. Then,with awesome therapeutic support, I realized, I was operating from my two year old beliefs! I'd simply never updated my belief system. Hmph!
And that adorable little two year old within, well, she's not running the show anymore. I just love her and imagine myself giving her a big hug whenever that old belief bubbles up. I can have compassion for her and know that what she believed then doesn't fit for me now. By honoring the experience and retrieving that part of myself - I tap into my very own fountain of youth. Every time I retrieve a younger part of myself,it's like taking another sip from the fountain - leaving me more whole and glowing than before.
I figure, since another year has gone by, you might want to know - the true fountain of youth is within you. It's personal to you, just as mine is to me. If you'd like support finding yours, ask a member of The Consciousness Collaborative.
Cheers from my fountain to yours - Happy New Year!
Joanne Lutz
Coaching~Consulting~Referral Resource
Founder of The Consciousness Collaborative
www.TheCCsite.com ~ www.WhatsNextWorkshop.com
Joanne@TheCCsite.com ~ ph. 617-827-0803 ~ fax 781-777-1899
Dear Joanne,
This was well said. Also, the point about time. Sometimes it seems I have a lot of retrieving to do. Yet sometimes I am surprised. At Christmas, I would gaze at the manger and feel excluded in some way from the peace. This Christmas, after many years, I no longer feel excluded. I am part of the peace and part of the greater family. For me a lot of years of identifying and feeling and then working on letting go of shame has helped me to feel included. I am grateful this Christmas season for the community around me and the grace that God and has given me and my persistence in seeking the truth.
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