“Shine on you crazy diamond’” Pink Floyd

Do you know that you were perfect long before you were born? And do you know that when taking your first deep breath of life, you were a flawless, beautiful being, lacking nothing? As a matter of fact, we all were. Every single one of us. Without exception.

We begin this physical life as luminous, curious, joy-seeking children, fragile yet intriguingly fearless, naïve yet intuitively wise, dependent yet totally trusting. But somehow, with the passing of time, this inner pureness slowly wears down, as we become painfully confronted by the limitations and scarcity manifested by the grown-up ‘outer’ world.

Holding my newborn son in my arms for the first time, I realized how wise and beautiful we are when we enter this reality. But this fundamental authenticity is conditioned away by the society and culture in which we live, and as we grow up, we forget our inherent validity.

In order to ‘fit in’, we intuitively retract our shining core and hide it from harm, somewhere deep in the secret chambers of our heart. We quickly learn how to use masks, disguises and ‘tricks’ in order to be seen, heard and acknowledged by others. And by the time we enter adulthood we have become masters at hiding our inner shining being – by repressing and ignoring it while compulsively conforming our selves to ‘normal’ and to ‘others’.

The society we grow up in conditions us to feel inadequate and not good enough, and we often think, if only I learn this, or do that, or look this way or that way, I will have a true value.

We focus so much on improvement and on getting better at the wrong things, that we gradually pull a veil of forgetfulness tighter and tighter around the incredible divine and inherent power we have within us. And before we know it, we have completely forgotten who we truly are. We have adapted; we have become normal, and boringly average.

I remember as a child being confused when people asked me what I wanted to ‘be’ when I grew up. Why couldn’t I just be myself? Why would I need to become something other than what I already was? The way I saw it, the grown-ups were implying that being your self is not enough and that you need to change the ONE you are NOW in order to become someone in the future. It didn’t make sense to me.

As a child, I loved drawing, so I thought about becoming a drawing teacher. I loved reading, so I tried to find occupations that would put me in rooms with lots of books – like working as a librarian or being a scientist at a university.

I didn’t like injustice, so I would fight the bullies in school when they teased younger children in the schoolyard. And when I look back at all this, I see a pattern. I’m not a drawing teacher, but I got a master’s degree in art history. I didn’t become a librarian, but I write books. And I still fight injustice: not with my fists, as I did as a child, but with my words and thoughts.

So you see, everything always works out the way it is supposed to, as long as you stay true to yourself and who YOU are.

A child doesn’t spend its time wondering “Who am I?” – because it knows. It simply uses the time to play, imagine and enjoy its being in the NOW.

Considering how magnificent you were when you were born and considering that you cannot be less than that now, then being who you truly are is only a question of recognizing your divine self within and remembering who you truly are.

You are the ground in which your soul has taken root to explore the lightness of itself. The only limitation is your imagination. The only way to find your divine self is by relentlessly being yourself.

You are unique. There is no one like you! You are… ONE… of a kind.

Exploring this doesn’t have to be hard work. It doesn’t have to take any time or space. No yoga mat required, no mentor needed, no herbs infused. All you need is YOU. Just be still and see the beauty in the tiniest things; recognize love in the smallest acts and you will automatically align your self with the divine YOU – the shining YOU.

When you align your heart with your soul, your true self will find a way to shine through in every thought you have and in every action you take.

Don’t wear a mask. Don’t hide. Don’t pretend. Because in the end, being YOU is what you came here to do.

Gordana Biernat is a thinker, writer, speaker, and wisdom keeper. She is one of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 teachers–a group of 100 awakened leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity. As a thinker, Gordana shares her thoughts on Twitter, initiating creative processes and conscious communication. She is a mentor, assisting those who seek self-development and a greater sense of being through intellectual and spiritual inquiry.

This essay was featured in the May 5th edition of The Sunday Paper, Maria Shriver’s free weekly newsletter for people with passion and purpose. To get inspiring and informative content like this piece delivered straight to your inbox each Sunday morning, click here to subscribe.

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