“Be Responsible for Your Own Cup”
It’s dangerous always seeking the approval of others. It can distract you from your core and from what really matters. It’s very misleading. Initially, you’re consciously aware and enjoy the approval of others and it feels great. Eventually, it can begin to take over and become more and more important to you. And, before you know it, all you can think of is what others’ might think, say, or do. And your frustrations begin to grow and once this happens, it’s as though your own ideas and thoughts become irrelevant. Things become fuzzy. Its now hard to distinguish what’s what, and what’s worse is that during this time of fuzziness and fogginess, you start to feel incredibly tender and vulnerable. Instinctively, you knew you were drifting away from your own course and core but you did it anyway because you were quite aware of your choice to absorb other’s approval, etc. This causes you to doubt yourself and your confidence begins to wane. It’s like you’ve been seduced in some way, and in the midst of the seduction, it was wonderful.
Unfortunately, these moments of surrender can turn into hours, days, and months and even years of seeking other’s approval. You look up and you’re no longer living your life for You! You’ve somehow grown to interpret and accept others’ opinions and approvals as your own. And, they’ve defined your life. When and if you arrive in this place of being defined by others and their approvals, your cup simply doesn’t seem to ever get full. No matter how hard you try, it’s forever empty and you end up carrying this emptiness around. Not only is this emptiness heavy, it’s quite disorienting. And when you do take time to pause and step away, you can’t remember how you even got here. You just know it hurts and the emptiness is overwhelming. This is when you have to take a deep breath, exhale, and find the courage to retake ownership of your cup! To do this you must look at your cup through your own lens, no one else’s. You must also accept the fact that you might have to begin gain. It’s okay. We all do it. It’s really about how quickly do we snap out of this false sense of validation and surrender---living for the approval of others. We have to own our own cup and its contents!
So, if your cup is empty, this would be a good time to wash it out. Go ahead, it’s empty anyway. Clean it out---squeaky clean and then start over. This time, fill it with love, wonder, and with all the possibilities that exist within you and are beautiful. For those around you offering up positive or negative comments or opinions, you can recognize them but don’t absorb them. Appreciate them and let them float pass you, and whatever you do, be mindful of how much you allow them to add to your cup. Your cup is sacred and is for you and God to fill, no one else. You must be responsible for what you allow in your cup.
Fill your cup with love, acceptance, and peace that are available to you from You! Fill it with the joys of loving others, from experiencing the amazingly beauty found in nature, and from God’s love, strength, and grace. Fill it with the knowing that God’s love and forgiveness surround you and fills you and your cup---every single nanosecond of each day. It’s your cup. Love it. Tend to it. Fill it with only good. Hold it tight.