But Is the Narrator Reliable? Creating a New Story

This is a tough time for all of us, no doubt. But for those of us who are wired to roam, it’s especially tricky. Much of my life has been either moving about the world, or planning on it. The one word that I most identify with is Freedom.

So what happens when the doors close to our previously determined identity? Who are we if not our persona - the job, the things, the relationships?

“Paradise Valley ll” Acrylic on Panel. 7” x 5” ©Amy Guion Clay 2020 (email for purchase info)

Now that the brakes are on, I asked myself recently, who am I if I don’t travel, and for that matter, who am I if I am not an artist? What if I no longer have those things that have defined me? How much more am I than my descriptors, and how can I go beyond the limitations of my story?

To ask these questions is to go further down the rabbit hole of self discovery.

When we find stillness (through meditation or otherwise) we begin to listen to the ongoing internal narrative that ceaselessly tells us what we believe to be true, which is often based on an old, outdated model.

So what if the narrator is not reliable? This narrator (the inner voice, ego) drives our life decisions. We buy into a story - our past, our present, and our future - that no longer may be growing with us.

“Paradise Valley l” Acrylic on Panel. 7” x 5” ©Amy Guion Clay 2020 (email for purchase info)

What if that story is just an old worn out record of what has been, not about what and who we could become?

Now that we have been forced inside - physically and metaphorically - it is a good time to take stock in what may have been a previously smaller, more limited self. When we question what we believe/think/judge, we might see our previous identity as shifting sand, unsupportive and shallow. By opening up to our higher intelligence , we find a more solid foundation to nurture and build our bigger, broader lives.

But first we must realize that we can consciously tell a different story. A tale that speaks of new possibilities, more expansive and compelling. Know that the narrator that tells us who we are, and what we can and can not do, is simply one version of the truth. Once we recognize the old beliefs/patterns, we can get creative with constructing the new life we want to live.

Because a new, more conscious way of being is coming, hopefully, in a post-coronavirus world. So who do you want to be in the new story that will be told?

Create the new narrative that brings you alive. It’s up to you now.

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