Life is about you impressing yourself! | A TEDx talk

Event: TEDxYouth@BSCR
Theme: The Voice of the Youth
Topic: Life is about you impressing yourself!

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Life is about you impressing yourself with your own magnificence, you glorifying yourself in your own creations, you realizing yourself as the painter of your own destiny… When you do something challenging, when you climb that mountain, when you succeed in that endeavor, when you complete that project, when you create that masterpiece, who other than you feels the most joy, the most contentment, the happiest? For others, it is another masterpiece, another book, another piece of art, another construction, another story, but for you it is your own soul on display, your own creation at play. Oh the joy of it all! 

Come to think of it, what are you to anyone besides just a thought? Perhaps more than a thought: a feeling to someone or a necessity to another. But you are everything to you. And you experience others through you. Others exist for you because you exist. The universe is real because you are in it. And everyone in your life that you love or fear is experienced by you through your own perceptions of them. Essentially, your life is all about you, happening to you, through you, for you, so you can have a taste of yourself through myriad mirrors of reality, so you can know yourself in experience. And that is true actualization, impressing yourself in your own acts, amusing yourself in your own imaginations, amazing yourself in your own creations! And the best part is that others are benefitted by your creations!   

Who was Jane Austen? Do you know her? You may have heard about her, you may have read about her, you may have read her books, or you may have never heard of her. At the end of the day, she is merely a thought in your mind, perhaps a feeling in your soul if you connected with her work. But her work, her art, gave her the utmost pleasure in the act of creating them, the satisfaction of expressing her inner world onto an outer canvas. That feeling is priceless. We come into life to experience that, to know ourselves experientially as the creator of our own realities, to self-realize! 

We are conditioned to think that we live for others, that our lives are meant to serve others. But that is not totally true. You see, everything that anyone has ever done on this planet is to feel better. Because even when you think that you are doing something for someone else, the self is being fulfilled in the process. For instance, when you go out of your way to help another it causes you to know yourself as a loving being, as caring, compassionate, generous, kind, helpful etc. Those are the feelings you are seeking inherently, even when you think you are doing it selflessly. Here is the thing: when you make that grand gesture, create something beautiful, help another, follow your passions, others are served by you living your dreams, you creating that masterpiece, you manifesting the highest version of yourself. They too are encouraged to dream and believe in themselves. Because in the larger sense there is no other but the self only! And all those ‘others’ are an extension of the self: yourself, to be more precise! Or myself! Hahaha 

When you fulfill yourself, meet your own needs before reaching out to others, you actually help them more because now you can give from a space of wholeness and oneness, rather than neediness or loneliness. It shows them what they too are capable of. Everyone has in them the potential to self-actualize. Everything that you need on your journey here, your heart knows. But do you have the courage to listen to it, to tune in to that inner voice constantly nudging you, prodding you towards your destiny, to fulfill your personal legend? There are myriad ways, plethora paths, mazes and meanderings through which you navigate life. And you are free to carve your own way. You have come here on earth to create… so create, Create, CREATE! That’s how you REALize your true potential, experience yourself as the co-creator of your unique destiny. Be the first domino, break the mold, go the distance, play the game… create the game! If that means to wake up in the middle of the night and jot down your mindless meanderings, so be it. Do all it takes, to listen to the nudges of your soul. Your soul signature is unique and not replicated. You are important. Your creations are significant. Your musings are magnificent. You matter. Do you think so? Then it is true!

People are so afraid to create what they desire, so afraid of judgement, of not being good enough, or they wait until the right moment arrives to write that book, to create that video, to make that art, to do that dance, to pen that poem, when all along the right moment is passing them by! Let the fear go. You think you are not good enough? You are. You think you can’t? You can! Who knows it better than you? Magnificence starts with you. You have all the tools you need to create your masterpiece. Not one, but several during your journey here on earth. So start now. Don’t wait another day! Because, while you are contemplating whether to do it or not, the dream is passing you by…  

The first step is the most courageous step. People wait for years to take that first step. Then even when they do, they quickly get disappointed, disillusioned, defeated, discouraged when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges and give up, thinking the dream is not for them, that they are not meant to do it, they are not good enough, bla bla bla… hence settle for a mediocre life, a mundane lifestyle, devoid of any capacity of greatness. There will always be those reasons at the back of your head trying to dissuade you from carrying on. But you have to believe it is possible for you. You have to trust in you. Do not abandon you. Do not postpone that great idea for another day. Life will not come knocking at your door, beckoning you to take the next step. Life is lived in this moment. There is no tomorrow. There was no yesterday. There is only now, this eternal moment. And if you think now that you cannot, then when will you think that you can? Tomorrow? Just a question! 

Everything you experience is through your own mirrors of reality, your windows of awareness. And that window can widen when you allow more of yourself in, when you don’t reject your own highest knowing about yourself, when you honor those hunches, subtle nuances and intuitions nudging you to live your grand vision, when you make room for yourself in your own life. That is when you experience the grandeur and splendor of all that you are and others are assisted by you living your life fully, true to yourself. Yes that takes a huge amount of courage. Because not everyone will support you on your decisions or appreciate you on your path and that is okay. External validation is not necessary when internal validation is there. We often seek validation outside of ourselves; when others approve of us then we feel accepted. Rather the opposite is true. When we approve of ourselves, others too can accept us… and they will find the courage to accept themselves as well, through your example! So brace yourself for the attacks. People will always judge you, criticize you, condemn you, question your truth. When you create something great, some will be jealous, some will be proud, some will think it’s horrible, some will say you’re seeking attention… but in the end it is your creation; the glory is yours to live, the satisfaction is yours to taste, the disappointment is your signal to become bigger, brighter, better, so you can take your own breath away! So the little you can have an experience of the big you! 

Now go and create your reality the way you want it. Write it. Paint it. Dance it. Sing it. Live it. And don’t worry about what others will say to it. When you know there is no one to compete with then all comparison vanishes and creation begins. Your soul talks in snippets, whispers, signs. As you get into the flow of crafting your destiny, the coincidences in your life will increase and you will begin to perceive magic. Real magic. Your path will reveal its secrets to you once you have the courage to walk it. That number has meaning for you. That symbol has significance for you. That omen is talking to you. That sign is guiding you to your dreams. That bird is singing loud praises of you. Listen closely to the song of this moment. In this moment is life, all of it! 

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Credits: Dance Lightly
Words adapted by an unknown author from 'Tread Gently' by Carolyn Hillyer (www.seventhwavemusic.co.uk)
Music by Lindsay Treen 

Dance lightly on the earth
Breathe deeply of the air
Lie softly on the water
Touch gently to the fire

Posing with my poster, post event:

Stills from the presentation:

Event posters:

For more info, check out the event listing on the TED website, ted.com/tedx/events/29880.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

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16 March 2019, Saturday, San Jose, Costa Rica by The British School of Costa Rica (BSCR).