Confidence Follows Courage
Dear friend,
The false self is a hungry ghost.
It must feed to sustain itself, so it stirs up the sludge and mud at the bottom of the well—where the things we don’t want to look at were thrown to be forgotten.
But we cannot forget ourselves.
And no part of us is truly unacceptable.
When Maisie hurt her paw yesterday jumping through the cat flap—and it was my lack of attention that contributed to it—my first instinct was to lie about it. Shocking, isn’t it?
Not my fault. Nothing to do with me.
It just happened.
There’s a balance to be struck: self-flagellation isn’t integrity. Accidents do happen, especially when we’re on autopilot and our minds are elsewhere.
Maybe working with so many kids over the years, giving them space to own their actions, helped me learn to own mine. Maybe it’s just maturity. But still, the initial impulse to hide or deny was there.
The practice is to feel into whatever arises—and let your body do the work of transmuting uncomfortable emotions into insights.
Maisie does seem a little better this morning, though she’s still favouring her paw. She can jump and run—and probably shouldn’t—but if it’s a bad sprain, it’ll take time.
Last night, my false self flared into a feeding frenzy.
I knew to welcome it.
To let it accuse, prod, and poke until it wore itself out.
Eventually, calm returned, and I took myself off to bed.
Forgiveness and compassion are givers of great gifts.
The more we summon the courage to be kind and forgiving, the more confident in ourselves we become.
Confidence follows in courage’s footsteps, like a cub behind a lioness—who will one day lead the pride.
I’ll keep you updated on Maisie.
It may seem like a small thing, but there is no “small” thing when it comes to the ego.
Compassion is all-encompassing.
No thing—and no one—lives outside of it.
The false self loves to make exceptions.
But then our compassion becomes incomplete.
On a brighter note, I have a new canine friend staying with me.
Enzo is a rescue from St Lucia, here for a few days.
So now I’m doing doggie daycare, life coaching, and making music.
The shift from teaching is freeing me to do what I love—and I wish that freedom for everyone.
Thinking back to how scared I was to leave that job...
Leads back to courage.
Leads to confidence.
The more we look at the mud and sludge at the bottom of the well, the clearer the water we draw.
Till tomorrow,
Love
Mikey