Integrations from David Whyte

I had the immense honor of attending a leadership training with David Whyte, a brilliant poet, philosopher and speaker who has based his writings and teachings upon "the conversational nature of reality." David has a huge presence as an articulate storyteller, though provoking philosopher and truly authentic being. 

I want to start off by sharing that it was a series of opportunities in my life that I said "yes" to which led me to this amazing experience. As I sat in the beautiful room where David spoke, I reflected on how it came to be that I was so fortunate to be right here right now and I realized it started when I said "yes" to myself and my desires to expand my consciousness and presence as a human, but also to expand upon my own business and brand. Once I made that choice, there were two opportunities that took me outside of the box, one leading to the other. And to both, I chose "yes" and that landing me in the exact place I wanted to be without even knowing it. 

I'd like to share the teachings of David that were profound and meaningful to me as they may be profound and meaningful to you as well.  

One of the most impactful statements that David said was "Once I let go of my story, I didn't have to compromise myself at all." He shares that we must stop having the conversation you're having right now that you've always been having. The real parts, if any, he assures will come back to you. He encourages that we have the right to ask interesting, curious questions. And we have the right to take a long time to name something. When we stop the conversation of now and get into the new horizon something really beautiful happens to us and we become delightfully surprised in our life. 

I started to think about this idea of stopping the conversation that we are having right now. And I came to the realization that there are conversations I want to stop having with myself. The first conversation is that "there is not enough time or resources" and the second is "that I am not enough" and the final conversation is "eventually I will have what I am desiring." 

As I pondered this lecture and went through the loss of our beloved kitty, I was instantly jolted with time and space. I realized that the illusion of not having enough time was something I created because all of a sudden, despite what seemed like more responsibility, I had all the time in the world. And I realized that time is available to me each day, but it requires continuously choosing to be present in the conscious conversations. 

I also spend time with the conversation of not being enough and decided it was time, once and for all to throw that statement out the window. It is absolutely not possible to be in alignment with my inner being and at the same time be convincing myself that I should be more. I am and that is more than enough. 

The third conversation and facet that I had to take a good look at was "EVENTUALLY". I have this very distinct nature and ability to be VERY okay with something coming to life or creation or manifestation eventually. In fact, I realized I often feel safer allowing that super big desire to sit way over there while I hang out here and admire it. I'm sure you can smell it, there's fear there. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the unknown.

David's next HUGE statement for me was to create a relationship with the radical unknown. He said to be okay with being on the edge. If we follow the path of robust vulnerability, we make the invitation for consciousness and deep conversation. He goes on to say that our true desires often lie underneath the surface promises that we make to ourselves and that it is time to let go and embrace.

I realized I was making an implicit promise to myself that staying in the same place was not only what I wanted but exactly what I was striving toward by being constantly okay with eventually and EVENTUALLY NEVER COMING. The relationship with the unknown puts one into a continuous state of vulnerability and that is truly the only place from which we can experience authentic life. 

This experience was a life changer for me and I am excitedly having new conversations with myself and consciously building my relationship with the unknown. This space feels really really good.