Inadequacy Enlightened

When most people think of the word inadequate. what comes to mind is not being good enough. It indeed has its roots in self worth, self identity, shame and loss.Loss alters one’s mind and heart when identity is left to be unearthed by psychological, emotional and societal paradigms; by aspects of the psyche that are ingrained from the time we are in the womb through the norms of social and behavioral development. The aura of innocence becomes skewed as we mature from babies to children and we individually and collectively take on the wounds of those around us and those who came before us. The holiness many of us know on such a deep level becomes enmeshed in our thoughts of who we should be, who we aren’t and what we might never become. That holiness never fades, it is simply forgotten as we become programmed toward establishing an identity which suits external influences in our lives. Those influences become internalized setting up a pattern in which thoughts of ‘not being good enough’ or ‘not being enough’ get challenged on a daily basis. I am okay with those thoughts if they take you further inside yourself to become reacquainted with your holiness. Most of the time those thoughts continue to separate us from ourselves and the world around us. Those thoughts then set the precedence for much of the hatred we experience within and between race, sexual orientation, religion, and all relationships, including the one we have with ourselves. Our feelings of inadequacy can feel overwhelming and propel us into a state of powerlessness. We feel like we have no control over who or what we are and/or who or what others perceive us to be. It is an addictive emotional spiral that takes us down the rabbit hole searching for something that has actually never left us. Beyond the shame, beyond the loss, beyond the powerlessness, there is an identity which has yet to be discovered within ourselves. An identity when embraced, raises inadequacy to a state of enlightenment which desires to be respected. Not for the hurt it can do, but for the self realization it offers us through that place of holiness. That gentle place, where identity meets the Divine. That place where we are held as much as we do the holding for ourselves and each other.  Identity takes on a whole new meaning when we walk hand in hand with our holiness, and inadequacy becomes part of that holiness.