The Declaration of You is a book written by my friend Michelle Ward and someone else named Jessica Swift whom I’ve just recently met but she seems totally awesome. The book comes out this summer, and I’ll be sure to link to it when it’s available! It’s about permission to step onto your path, to follow your heart, and to live a passionate and wholehearted life. So obviously, I’m a fan. I wrote the following post for The Declaration of You’s BlogLovin’ Tour, which is a fun bloggy thing where 100 bloggers write about these topics that are so dear to my heart. You can read more here. And now, on to my post!

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So many of us walk through the world in a trance, just going through the motions.

So many of us have been hurt deeply, long ago – so deeply that we’ve built walls around our hearts to protect ourselves.

So many of us feel disconnected, isolated, alone. Like there must be something wrong with us because we don’t fit in.

We’re told: “That’s just the way it is.”

And a few of us dare to ask, “Could it be different?”

We are the misfits, the nonconformists, the edgewalkers.

We are the visionaries, the rebels, the revolutionaries.

We are the ones who will change the world.

All those things that make you different? All those things you were teased about when you were young? All those things you’ve been marginalized for as an adult? All those things you’re afraid to open up and share for fear no one will love the real you?

Those things are your uniquity – your uniqueness.

Those things are not what make you flawed.

Those things are what make you you.

And there’s an amazing power in aligning the way you express yourself with the way you truly are.

When you’re living your life trying to meet others’ expectations, it’s like walking around with twenty-pound weights attached to your ankles. When you unmask yourself, the weights disappear. You feel so light you could fly! What used to be a struggle becomes ease and flow.

There’s a saying from the Feri tradition, “I would know myself in all my parts.”

So powerful. So important. And today I want to take it one step further: I would express myself in all my parts.”

Don’t keep your wonderful, amazing Self to yourself! Open up and let us know the real you!

What’s one thing you don’t usually share about yourself?