Stepping Into Freedom
[ theme music & intro ]
It’s been said that better questions lead us naturally to better answers, and that it’s in not knowing that we open the doorway to knowing. I’m Scott Lennox and you’re listening to The Beautiful Question, a consideration of things that truly matter in a complex world.
[ brief pause ]
In the spirit of self-discovery and true freedom, we’ll return this week to one of the questions I asked in the previous podcast.
Join me as we consider some of the finer things within us and ways of releasing them into the forefront of our lives.
[ brief pause as theme music fades ]
A couple of interesting things happened as a result of last week’s podcast. The first came during a conversation with a friend. I’ll get to that in a minute. The second came from a listener who’s a rancher and entrepreneur here in Texas who suggested that it would be good to expand on one of the questions I asked near the end of the last episode. The question is a beautiful one I’ve been asking friends and the people I sit with in counseling for decades. It’s worth our deeper consideration today.
The question is, “If I were to get to know you over time—the real you—what would I discover about you that no one else knows?”
I don’t ask that question to pry or trespass. I surely don’t ask it to turn someone inside out. I ask it as a way of offering an opportunity for exploration and to grow our mutual connection and understanding. I ask it because I truly want to know the answer.
[ brief pause ]
Most of us are slow to reveal the deeper things within us. I certainly get that. Speaking for myself, I have a media presence that requires a public face. And yet, while I’m judiciously self-disclosing in these newsletters and podcasts, I also have a deeply private side that I keep largely to myself for reasons that are quietly personal, though I’m questioning those so-called reasons much more directly these days.
That brings us to the first event I mentioned. This past week, while I was writing the last episode and considering the answers to my own questions, I sat face-to-face with someone I’ve known for years. Slowly feeling my way into it, I’ve been gradually revealing some of the deeper parts of myself as trust grows between us. As we talked, it felt right to share a high-level musical talent I’ve held as one of my longtime “secret personal treasures.”
photo: TeamOne
Having done that, I no longer feel like hiding it. I’m not sure why. So, recorded here at HeartRock on two separate tracks, I’ll play you a bit of the blues on guitar and harmonica.
[ blues music plays briefly and fades ]
Earlier my life, I put more and more of myself away, including some of my musical abilities, after being mocked or judged or criticized. Thinking that I was protecting myself, I made a conscious decision to keep a number of things to myself and let no one else know about them. As a result, I slowly withdrew, wrapping myself ever more tightly into my own cocoon. Without considering the personal price I was paying for it, I kept adding layers of separation that were based on nothing more than the pain story I was telling myself.
It’s now abundantly clear to me that my story was unrealistic. There had never been a valid reason to hide or put parts of myself away. Acting out of fear, I confined myself to what Albert Einstein referred to as “the prison of [my] own ideas.” I’m willing to bet many of you can related to that.
[ brief pause ]
Liberation comes when we give ourselves complete permission and complete freedom to be ourselves—as we are, without apology and without hiding—the freedom to live vibrantly and expansively and with a sense of purpose and meaning, and if not with joy, with a sense of contentment.
Since we’re the ones holding the keys, that’s a freedom no one else can give us.
I’m reminded of an often-quoted statement by Marianne Williamson about our greatest fear. She wrote, “It is our Light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.” How ironic it is that when we become aware of others looking at us through the lenses of judgment and public scrutiny, we often keep our Light dimmed, or pulled in and tightly restricted. In doing so, we impose limits on ourselves that produce pain, frustration, and a life half-lived.
What a profoundly unnecessary waste.
I’m also reminded of the wisdom of the French priest and scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He wrote, “It is our duty as men and women to live as though the limits of our abilities do not exist.” In essence, he was saying that we have an obligation to shine as brightly and as expansively as we can.
Ask yourself what would change today if you took that stance.
[ brief pause ]
With that in mind, allow me to expand my question and lean into the potential freedom it holds within it.
“If I were to get to know you over time—the real you—the essential you—the authentic and unfettered you—the you who knows no imposed limits, either external or internal—what do you know about yourself and what would I discover about you that no one else knows?”
One of the ways to open the door to that self-awareness is to ask yourself what positive and powerful traits, attributes, abilities, gifts, talents, or inner resources are always in you and waiting for you to call on them.
Then ask what will most likely happen when you give yourself complete permission to set those things into motion.
[ brief pause ]
This week’s three Beautiful Questions are about opening the doors to your life and standing in your own fullness, exactly as you are, from the inside out.
One: What good things have you been hiding within yourself or keeping others from discovering about you?
Two: What do you know about why you’ve been restricting your life in that way?
Three: In what ways are you willing to live more fully and expansively today?
[ brief pause ]
As always, as you sit with these questions and your responses to them, I’d love to hear what you discover. Write and tell me about it.
As I say each week,
My Light with your Light
[ brief pause as theme music rises ]
Thank you for joining me in these podcasts as we keep doing what we can to respond to life in increasingly effective ways. As always, I’m open to your comments and feedback.
You can be further inspired by visiting my friends at Kosmos Journal. That’s K O S M O S Journal. Their mission is to inform, inspire, and engage global transformation in harmony with all life. You can easily find them online at Kosmos Journal dot O R G.
And at thebeautifulquestion.com, you can read the illustrated transcript of each podcast as you listen. You’ll also find an archive of all previous podcasts, including episodes three and four, guided relaxation audios that can help you practice letting go on a daily basis.
If you find these podcasts useful, don’t hesitate to share them or tell others about them. That’s a great way of helping me get a voice of calm and collaboration and balance and encouragement out into the world.
[ brief pause ]
I’m Scott Lennox, and this has been The Beautiful Question.
[ brief pause ]
The Beautiful Question is a One Light production, written, produced, and engineered by Scott Lennox at HeartRock Studios in Fort Worth, Texas, as a way of paying forward to life, being fully present, becoming better engaged with things that truly matter in a complex world, and committing to a healthier future for all of us.