Home   >   Feature   >   How to Be a Proud Sparkly Poppy (hint- don’t cut yourself down) by @ColetteBR

How to Be a Proud Sparkly Poppy (hint- don’t cut yourself down)

By on April 6, 2015
ColetteBaron Reidwithherpuppies
Dearest luminous you,
I was reading my favorite Sunday inbox delivery from Brain Pickings – a wonderful weekly compilation of interesting and meaningful subjects and thought to write about an incident this week that made me think about the perils of light dimming and the tall poppy syndrome.
The author made reference to the “western pathology of cynicism” and it struck a chord in me. We learn how to behave, what to believe by how we’re taught to think. We go on auto-pilot because our subconscious has stored patterns of information that get reinforced over time by repetition. If a culture is cynical, no matter what if you’re in that culture you might automatically react to things in a cynical judgmental way. You might not even realize you’re doing it.
That is until you learn how not to and find freedom from it.
I’m teaching the fundamentals of The Invision Process® in a course offered by Hay House this week and one of the exercises is to learn how to separate and dis-identify with your internal critical voice. You know the one. That ugly small part of you that says” Who do you think you are? Bla-bla-bla” when judging yourself or others.
Someone posted an insinuating comment, under one of the free videos that we sent out to give people a taste of the course. Now I will be honest – you know the feeling when you offer up something “ look what I made for you!” and one person out of a hundred goes “ who do you think you are?”
Ok so my pesky little inner critic had about ten minutes of fun with that one. Did I have the same doubts about allowing myself to be all that I can be? Yes indeed but that voice belongs to the past and not now. Yes I too have been influenced by the “western pathology of cynicism”. But what I know is the judgmental critical voice that lives inside me too is not all of me. It’s a wounded part that learned that it wasn’t safe to grow and explore and be all I could be.
That cynical voice that says “That’ll never work, who do you think you are to do more than one thing anyway, Harrumph?” was born somewhere along the way in me too.
It’s all in the mind in the end – how we’ve been programmed to see ourselves and others.
It’s so common in our bully culture to use the internet to try and “cut people down to size”, but we can also act as our own bullies refusing to explore all our gifts and talents because they might make us stick out, not belong, be rejected, or criticized by others. If we rise up to reach more of the sun we might just grow a little taller than others, or we might show others how to get more light, be stronger and find more life force to share.
If I had a daughter I would tell her to grow and explore and be everything she chooses to be without shame no matter where it leads no matter how high she soars, or how many times she stumbles. I would also remind her that a bright light attracts a lot of bugs and that’s why a glittery fan and sparkle dust should always accompany her along the way.
Don’t let anyone cut you down.
Especially don’t cut yourself down.
I was considering how much I’ve accomplished in my lifetime so far. When I say accomplish it’s not important to me how successful I have been in the eyes of the world, or “industry” but what I’ve attempted, created, and shared with others no matter how big or small the group. Amongst my peers I’d say I’m about medium height- not the tallest poppy but right sized for me.
But no matter what I am going to continue to reach for the skies and to Source and Light so I can know the magic of co-creation wherever that leads. And I am sure along the way I will get trigged by someone who wants to cut me down.
I will love that part of me anyway.
It wasn’t my fault I was taught to dim my light to fit in.
And it wasn’t the fault of the ones who taught me this either.
When I think of a tall poppy I think of how much life and vitality we can have when we’re willing to express all that we are no matter what others may think, or how it makes them feel. It’s taken me years to give myself permission to stand tall no matter what. And I have fertilized my poppy garden with more than my share of stinky life experience manure to last a lifetime.
Mostly we need to support each other to do the same.
I hope my work and my words do that.
So my beautiful reader—don’t listen to the critical voices within you, don’t listen to those voices from others. Love them anyway for “ they know not what they do.”
Be a proud poppy- Shine, sparkle, stand tall and help another do the same and together we will make the most spectacular wild and wonderful garden!
Sending you love and light always and forever!
love colette 200x103
Collette Baron-ReidColette Baron-Reid is an intuitive counsellor and founder of the Master Intuitive Coach Institute. Her book, “Weight Loss For People Who Feel Too Much”  is available on Amazon and in book stores everywhere! colettebaronreid.com

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