No More Hiding

I have a vision and it terrifies me. 

My vision is taking the form of Magic Tree Sanctuary and it is tied to what I’ve come to know as my purpose. I am an Earthkeeper, the protector, the guardian of a piece of sacred land. I’ve been tasked with opening the door to what this land has to offer and welcoming people who need to receive it’s magic.

And here is where I get stuck… 

Just saying that to you is terrifying. 

Why? Because it sounds a little out there and...what will you think?

Throughout my life, I have asked myself that question. What will people think?  

It stems from childhood. Trying to fit in. In elementary and middle school, I did not have a lot of friends. Later on, in high school, after I started wearing the right clothes, the right makeup and acting a certain way, I made more friends. The message I got from that experience was if you want to feel accepted and fit in, then you have to be a certain way. If you don’t, you will live a lonely life.

I’ve lived by that theory for a very long time. Don’t let anyone see your true self. Hide what is deep down inside because it’s risky if you don’t look and act like everyone else. There’s safety in staying on the surface level.

So…

It’s terrifying to tell you that when I spend time sitting on the land, I can hear the voices of the ancestor spirits. It’s terrifying to tell you that the animals I encounter here come bearing messages for me. 

If I tell you stuff like that, I risk showing you a side of me that you may not like because you may think it’s weird. 

But really, what is weird?

Weird. Odd. Strange. Far-out. Different.  

Different. 

Not like everyone else.

As I write this, I’m looking out the window at the woods behind my house. I see hundreds of trees. Big ones, small ones, bent ones, straight ones. 

No two are exactly the same. 

They are different.

When you remove the judgement and see what’s in front of you for what it really is, what you see is beauty. 

It’s beautiful to be different. 

So, I’ve decided my practice going forward is to step out from hiding, take risks, and be different. To show you all sides of me.

Starting now. 

With this post. 

Thank you all for being a part of my journey. 

Forest Love, 

Julie

“At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough.” —Toni Morrison