Costumes

Halloween was this weekend, and I loved seeing all of the trick-or-treaters in their costumes. There were outfits that were clearly the child's choice, and others that ... were clearly something put on them as an expectation of fitting into a couple/family/friend group idea (sorry not sorry, Chris <wink>).

This got me thinking about what we do the other 364 days of the year.

In deciding "who to be," we can feel pressure to take on the expectations and plans (or perceived expectations and plans) of the people around us. ...Or we can boldly choose the costume that best fits our current needs, interests, and desires. 

Sometimes we feel like we're expected to dress up as an expert, with very smart-looking glasses and tweed elbow-patch blazers ready to present to lecture halls, when the better option for us at the time is to be a scientist with a lab coat, gloves, and goggles to handle the inevitable mishaps and a notebook ready to record everything we're learning. 

Sometimes we might feel an expectation or societal pressure to show up as a global superstar, with a billion fans and sold-out stadiums, when all we need to be in this moment to be a tutor -- ready to show up and share what we know with the people in our closest circles. Or a home chef, excited to offer a nourishing signature dish to people we care deeply for.

None of these costume choices are permanent. As we run experiments and become experts in certain topics, we can don the tweed blazer. As we exercise our voices and build our bank of lyrics from earned wisdom, we can share our voices in much bigger ways. 

This might seem like settling or playing small, but I don't see it that way... as long as we don't stay stuck in our costume of the day. We wear what fits best for today's mission, and change whenever it makes sense to do so. 

That's courage to accept the freedom we have available to us. That's growth.