Are you born under “a lucky star” or under “rain clouds”?

During one of my yoga practices an interesting question came into my mind: Why do some people seem to be born under “a lucky star”, and are positive, balanced and successful while some other people seem to be born under “rain clouds”, and seem  to be more negative and imbalanced? 

Since the beginning of my spiritual quest I have received a lot of support from my teachers, students and friends. It is amazing to realize that often on my path I got  just what I needed (the ”right books” always arrived at the right moment, for example, or when I came to a crossroad I saw the sign I needed to follow). So when I asked myself the question, Are you born under “a lucky star” or under “rain clouds”? I knew the answer. I am born under “a lucky star”. Being born that way doesn’t mean there is no challenge or difficulty; the challenges and difficulties brighten the light of the star. 

Working on a summer newsletter I came across the blog of an artist,  philosopher Shelly P. Johnson. Seeing her drawing and article (Do You Live from the Inside Out or Outside In?) brought a smile to my face. I would like to share with you some highlights of Shelly’s article. 

Do You Live from the Inside Out or Outside In?

Living from the Inside Out:

When we Live from the Inside Out, we live from a sense of our own worthiness and a clear sense of our own chosen purpose. We feel fully capable to live out our purpose in the world. In addition, because we have a strong sense of confidence and clarity, we look for others with whom we can share life’s adventures. We relate to others and the world from a place of hope.

Living from the Outside In:

When we Live from the Outside In, on the other hand, we are unsure about our worthiness and capability. We may lack a sense of purpose or we may doubt our ability to live out our purpose in the world. In addition, we lack a strong sense of confidence and clarity. So we look for others to define or save us. Or we view them as our rivals and competition. As a result, we relate to others and the world from a place of fear.

When we doubt our worthiness and capability and live from the Outside In, we often find that many or all of the following actions characterize us:

• We lack confidence in our body, our wisdom, our emotions, our decisions, and our purpose.
• Or we constantly look to others to know what we should do and say and how we should act.
• We feel ashamed of our mistakes and our learning curves.
• We feel afraid of trying new things because we worry about looking foolish.
• We constantly compare ourselves to other people and feel like we come out the loser in the comparison.
• We aren’t sure where we are going and what we are doing.
• We have problems making decisions with confidence.
• We have problems connecting with others because we feel bad about our self or we feel like their successes diminish our worth.
• We feel like we can’t have the kind of life we want.
• Or we want someone to just come and rescue us and tell us how to live our life.
• When we experience the feelings above on a regular basis, however, we start to feel disconnected from our self. We feel lost and aimless, and we often get stuck in self-loathing.

What Does Living from the Inside Out Look Like?

• We have confidence in our body, our wisdom, our emotions, our decisions, and our purpose.
• We draw on our own internal resources like clear thinking and emotions, our ethical code, and our purpose to know what we should do and say and how we should act. We may sometime consult others on these matters, but we are confident to make the final decision ourselves.
• We accept our mistakes and our learning curves as a normal part of life, and we feel confident in our capacity to grown and learn.
• We enjoy the growth that trying new things brings, and we give ourselves permission to make mistakes as a normal part of the learning process.
• We rarely compare ourselves to others, or if we do, we look at others as sources of inspiration, rather than viewing people enviously as competitors. Also, we know that everyone, including our self, is on their own unique journey. We know there is enough success and happiness to go around.
• We have a strong sense of purpose or a strong sense of our ability to discover and create our purpose.
• We are able to make decisions when we need to and to have confidence that we have acted reasonably.
• We connect with others well because we connect with and are secure in ourselves.
• We feel capable of creating and receiving a beautiful and meaningful life in line with our deepest values.
• We realize that have the resources to solve our own problems and pursue our purpose. We know that while other people are often meaningful and helpful companions on our journey, we’ve got this.

If you took the time to reflect on Shelly’s article and asked yourself the question Do I Live from the Inside Out or Outside In? see if you can take the answer as a signpost, to begin or continue living Inside Out.

My wish for all of us is to be able to disconnect from daily stress and recharge during the summer.

With love 

Katri