Hey there !
I remember how everything changed that day…
I was in second grade and Sister Arnold was my teacher. I liked Sister Arnold – she was young and fun and often had a big smile on her face.
And I was her favorite – the Teacher’s Pet. :-)
I don’t remember what the subject was that day – only that I was EXCITED about it. And when I am excited, I start talking.
Which, in second grade at a Catholic elementary school, is NOT a good thing. We were supposed to raise our hand and wait for Sister to call on us before we spoke.
But when Sister Arnold asked a question, I blurted out my answer.
She looked at me. “Did you raise your hand, Teresa?”
“No, Sister. I forgot.”
“Well, remember next time.”
I nodded.
Less than a minute later, I blurted out a response to something else.
“Did I give you permission to talk, Teresa?”
“No, Sister. I’m sorry.”
I REALLY was.
But on that day, it kept happening.
I don’t remember what I blurted out that last time – just that, once again, I didn’t raise my hand and wait for Sister to call on me.
She looked at me. This time she wasn’t smiling.
“Teresa, do you see how Sandy is behaving right now?”
I looked at Sandy. She was sitting at her desk with her arm raised, not saying a word.
“Yes, Sister.”
“You should be a GOOD girl like her and not speak until I give you permission!”
Sister had never looked at or spoken to me like that before. I was stunned – shaken to my core.
There wasn’t a sound in the room. Everyone was looking at me.
That’s when I decided I would be just what Sister wanted. I would never let myself get so excited again that I would lose control like that. Never again would I speak so freely or passionately without permission.
Until two weeks ago when, once again, everything changed.
I was at The Courageous Messenger Intensive in Los Angeles and, for the first time since second grade, I let myself speak straight from my heart – unedited, unfiltered and bold.
Gone was my need to have permission. Gone was my fear of “what people would think?” or “is this the right answer or thing to say?” Gone was me saying what I thought others wanted me to say or would have them approve of me.
At that event, I GAVE MYSELF PERMISSION to listen to and trust myself again – and to blurt out what I was getting without thought of it being right or acceptable. I dared to speak what was in my heart and soul – and to do it with power and passion. I dared to take off the lid and boldly share who I am, the vision I have for the people I
serve, the message I am here to share, the movement I am meant to be part of.
And I felt the most alive, empowered, authentic, inspired, and free I have felt since that day in Sister Arnold’s class.
I left LA having made promise – a pledge to myself, to my God and to YOU, my friend.
To the best of my ability (and with God’s help), I will show up and speak in the world the way I showed up at that event. Writing this email and declaring this commitment to you is me putting a stake in the ground to stand in that promise.
Because what was true for me is probably true for you as well.
You hold back. There are things you want to say and do that you are keeping a lid on – waiting for someone to give you permission to do them. There are things you are hiding out of fear that someone will be disappointed in you or won’t love you. This might especially be true around money.
There are dreams, desires and ideas in your heart that you won’t let see the light of day. The problem is that you cannot have them come true if you keep them hidden in a dark closet deep within yourself.
Like me, you might even use money as justification for you holding back, for playing it safe, for not honoring who you are and what you want and need. You make money more important than you. After all, you need to be RESPONSIBLE, right?
(Trust me, I KNOW that one!)
Which is why I am ALSO sharing with you one of the unedited, unfiltered messages that came through in LA.
*********
We – you and me – were created by a God of Love who wants to create good for us and through us. This God created us on purpose, with a purpose, and has blessed us with gifts to share with the world. We are here to make a difference in the world. And this God wants us to have all we need and want to live a full-out life – a life
of freedom. This includes money.
*********
It’s time to trust this Truth – both you and me. Which is why I am inviting you to join me in daring to stop holding back and putting brakes on yourself, to stop hiding the truth of who you are – both your dreams and fears, gifts and challenges.
God has ALREADY given you permission, . It’s why you are here. It’s why you are alive. It’s why you were created to be the unique human being and expression of the Divine that you are.
Now I am giving you permission as well....
AND I am inviting you to GIVE YOURSELF permission.
You have permission to live a full-out life – a life of freedom and joy - moment by moment by moment. And you have permission to have the money you need for that.
But you can't just SAY it - you have to put a stake in the ground and ACT on it.
And so I am challenging you to stretch yourself today – to step out boldly and tell the truth that you have been watering down or hiding to ONE person.
And if one place you’ve been holding back or hiding out is around money, then today tell ONE person what’s REALLY going on.
And if you don’t know who you can tell that is safe and who will support you and accept you and celebrate you for doing so, then I nominate ME. Send me an email and we’ll set something up!
Remember, , that YOU were created by a God of Love who wants to create good for you and through you.
You are a gift. You were created with gifts to share.
Give yourself permission to share the gift of who you REALLY are today… unedited, fully alive and FREE!
The world NEEDS you!
xoxo
Teresa
P.S. As if to underscore my pledge and this message, right after I finished writing the draft of this email, I decided to listen to some music. So I turned "shuffle" on my Amazon Music playlist and this is the FIRST song that played! :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVb8OJEQGIQ