What’s Locked in Your Closet?

When did you know you had something important to do in this lifetime? I remember the exact moment it happened for me. I was walking home from the bus stop back in 1984 and as I walked, I wrote this poem in my head:

DARE!!!
Life is so special!

We learn, we love,
We live.
Forever we care, we give.

Learn to love, learn to share.
Try new things others don’t dare!!!

This was my message for the world back when I was in was 5th grade – and it still is – all these years later. This is what I wanted to shout from the rooftops, but I didn’t. I was too embarrassed, insecure, and unwilling to be vulnerable, so I hid my poetry in a tiny book in the back of my closet, hoping that no one would ever find out and at the same time, hoping to be magically “discovered” and thrust into the national spotlight as America’s Youngest Poet/Guru.

I lamented not being picked out by some wise authority figure, but I wasn’t willing to take responsibility to put myself in the spotlight and make the difference I knew I was born to make.

I’m willing to bet over the years, that you found ways to make your dreams smaller too.

As an 11-year-old, I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world, but then for 25 years or so, I stuffed that knowledge with food, work, and other narcotizing distractions. I didn’t want the burden of being a change agent. I told myself it would be easier if I could be “normal” and not compelled to a life of self-discovery and consciousness work.

So I got the degrees, corporate job and all the trappings of a traditional life, but in my heart my message continued to burn, until one day it exploded out of me and I released my thoughts about being normal and welcomed my calling to make a difference.

Today I am living my calling and it feels so much better than hiding it in the back of a closet. I love working with people who are writing books that really matter – books that are creating joy and healing – books that are minimizing pain and suffering.

What’s your message? Is it something you have known for a long time you needed to share? What does it feel like to have it locked inside you?