To Be Worthy

Are you worthy?

Truly worthy?

It’s such a loaded word. Worthy.

Synonyms that come to mind include deserving and enough or good enough.

Similarly, the antonym is shame. To feel unworthy you might likely be experiencing shame. At the very least it is a very stuck place to be; in an unworthiness cycle that is.

A good friend of mine, another therapist as well, once told me a powerful vision she had during a meditation once on this topic.

She described seeing herself as a reed in a small line of flowing water. When the reed (her) was experiencing thoughts and feelings of unworthiness, it was like the reed was bent over and blocking the flow of water. When she was able to stop questioning and doubting her worthiness the reed stood straight up, which allowed the flow of water to move easily past her.

It took me several years to grasp this metaphor fully and apply the vision to my own experience of unworthiness spirals.

What I finally understood from her vision is that I have spent years feeling worried that I’m not good enough, that I’m not worthy of using my gifts and talents in certain ways (like writing blog posts or starting a podcast).

I’ve been held back by the fear that I’m not deserving of success or that I don’t have enough expertise to share my thoughts and ideas with others. And ultimately I have been blocking my ability to fulfill my life's purpose of helping and healing others.

Worthiness is not something that needs to be earned or proven. It’s not a badge that we can only wear if we meet certain criteria or standards. Worthiness is an inherent aspect of our being.

Each and every one of us is born worthy, simply because we exist. We don’t have to do anything to prove our worth or earn it. It’s already there within us.

When we allow ourselves to fully embrace our inherent worthiness, we stop questioning and doubting ourselves. We stop feeling ashamed of who we are or what we have to offer. We stand tall, like the reed in my friend’s vision, and allow the flow of life to move easily through us.

And when we don’t feel worthy and we believe those messages, then we get stuck and block ourselves from sharing and receiving all the good that is meant for us and the world.

So, to answer the question, are you worthy? Yes, you are. We all are. And the more we can remember and embrace our worthiness, the more we can live from a place of confidence, creativity, and joy.