Tuesday, June 1, 2010

A different kind of Certificate

In my last post, I talked about hanging your diplomas and certificates on the walls and the value of this. Now I'd like to talk about a different kind of certificate. This is not one you would necessarily hang on the wall, but is equally as powerful.

Are you ready to retire? I am, at least, in certain areas of my life. Does it matter how old I am for this? Not really.

When I was training in classical Feng Shui, one of the class segments was titled "Inner Feng Shui." This was a surprise to me. I was prepared to learn formulas, work on diagrams and otherwise get to know the process of evaluating a building for energy flow. Our instructor, a very wise man who I respect immensely, believes that inner work is important to a Feng Shui practice and that being clear emotionally can only benefit the client. I would have to concur.

One of the things he recommended was for us to look at  our lives, and decide in which areas we were ready to move on. He told the story of Japanese soldiers found in 1970s and 80s who were unaware that WWII had ended. Japan held a ceremony to retire them with honor, so they could finally move on.

So, to repeat the question with more information now, are you ready to retire from anything? After taking this class, I decided it was time for me to retire from my role as the "Hero Eldest Daughter" in my family. After years to trying to hold things together within my family of origin, and make things okay for everyone, I decided I was tired, really tired, and it was time for me to live more authentically for me.

My certificate stated: In recognition of a job well done in the role of family hero, savior and otherwise fixer of all problems. You are now retired from duty.

That was nearly three years ago, and this is a process, but I have taken huge steps in the direction of living for me, not selfishly, but with the knowledge that the more I live by my own lights, the more brightly I can shine for others.

This is the year of the Metal Tiger. Great info about this here. Metal Tiger creates restless energy and supports change. It may be time to retire from your current career and embark upon a new one, from any role in your life that no longer suits you, from excessive worry, from low self-esteem, from a relationship that's not working. This very simple process can have such powerful results. Intention is a powerful tool, and the support that lines up when you set your intention can be amazing.

4 comments:

  1. Diana,
    i so enjoyed reading this post which gives me a new light and inspires me to follow this retiring step. At one point in our life,as you say giving up a role in which we feel uncomfortable can be a great relief.
    Congratulations on your attitude!
    :-)

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  2. Hi Diana
    Your posts always make me think, a lot. This is such a positive way of moving on from certain roles or aspects of our lives. I love the idea of retiring - not least because it is such a gentle way to give myself permission - and I'm not often very good at giving myself permission!!
    Thank you so much for your gentle philosophy - I shall ponder this over the coming week :-)
    Happy days to you,
    Denise x

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  3. Denise,

    I think, and hadn't put it so clearly above as you just did, that gentlness is key. This particular exercise is about honoring ourselves in all of our facets, and in this case to gently retire those parts of ourselves that were at one time maybe crucial to our survival but no longer work best for us.

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