Owning Your Jaw-Dropping Magnificence

A frumpy, middle-aged woman with bushy caterpillar eyebrows walked in nervous determination onto the stage. In front of millions of viewers of the TV show, Britain’s Got Talent, she declared that her dream is to be a professional singer. People snickered and rolled their eyes. Then she began to sing in a clear, lilting, beautiful voice. In the audience, people’s jaws dropped, and a spontaneous standing ovation with thunderous applause erupted. Now over 66 million people have been moved, amazed and inspired by Susan Boyle on Youtube. (Click link below to see video.)

I believe that one of the reasons this has touched so many people so profoundly is because deep down inside we know that we have within us our own version of jaw-dropping magnificence. Just like in the story of the Ugly Duckling, our beautiful swan essence exists, waiting to be owned and revealed.

Gay Hendricks says, “We are so busy trying to prove we’re okay, we forget that we’re magnificent.” I believe that, like the Ugly Duckling, we are all on a hero’s journey to discover our inherent magnificence. One of the challenges on our journey is that we misidentify ourselves as the Ugly Duckling and get lost in that image and stuck in that story. When we try to break free and be more than that, a critical inner voice berates us, saying, “Who do you think you are?” Yet there is a higher voice within urging us to remember, “Who do you KNOW you are?”

Sometimes a life challenge (such as a divorce, an illness, or a great loss) comes along to wake us up and help us remember who we really are. When first confronted with adversity, it can seem that life has turned on us; but we eventually find instead that it has turned us On! It has turned on the big, bright, luminous light of our soul, igniting our courage, strength, and special abilities, reminding us that, like Susan Boyle, there is so much more to us than meets the eye.

I had planted a seed years ago that in my 60’s I would be optimally healthy. I would be slender. I would be writing. I would be deeply connected with my spirit. Yet as the big 6-0 was just months away I found myself thirty pounds overweight and cozily nestled into the comfort of the familiar. I needed something to jolt me into a strong resolve for this life transformation, and I got it! (Life is so accommodating!)

As a result of my appendicitis and uterine cancer, something remarkable has happened…I saw something today that I haven’t seen in years… my jaw line! When my appendicitis struck 9 months ago I completely lost my appetite! I ate very lightly for three months and lost 23 pounds! When the possibility of uterine cancer entered the scene a few months ago I changed my diet even more, eating mostly raw foods, drinking wheat grass everyday, and cutting out all dairy and sugar. I lost 7 more pounds.

The seed I had planted prior to turning 60 is now in full bloom: I feel more vibrantly healthy and alive tha
I have ever felt. I am loving my body (including my new scars, which I see as badges of courage). I am deeply connected with my spirit. And I am writing and sharing about it all in these newsletters (with two books in the works)!

My jaw drops as I see that this frumpy, complacent, middle-aged woman that I was just nine months ago has transformed into my Magnificent Kick-Ass Big Soul Self, doing the soul work that I came here to do!

Who do you KNOW you are? Have you owned and revealed your jaw-dropping magnificence?