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A post shared by VA (@pranapeke) on Jun 8, 2018 at 9:46am PDT

Bare naked: a soul investigation.

Scary thought, isn’t it? To show up in the world with no armor on.

That armor can be anything: power suits, high heels, hair gel, breast implants, a Mercedes, lipstick, social media, money, kids, strong bodies, sexy struts, fake smiles, politics, religion, dogma…anything.

Consider this: Just you. Just me. Nothing and no one else. Naked as the day we were born.

But, that’s just it isn’t it? It starts that young. We start to build an identity. We’re influenced by how we grow up, what we observe, and what we’re taught. Some of it we reject or accept early on. Some of it sticks to our bones and other things revolt us.

I’m curious though. What if we stepped outside of the privacy of our own homes exactly as we are behind those same closed doors? Would people still accept us? Will we still be loved and accepted as is? If overnight, everything we ever cared about disappeared, who would we be? Would we be the same or are we so identified with those things or people that we lose ourselves?

Our armor protects us in battle. But who are we fighting exactly? Is it our friends who we want to impress or the enemies? Do we doll up for him or for her, that b*tch? Is that fancy car for you or them? Let’s take a real hard look at it. Shall we?

I’m not saying we should strip down for a cavity search—but it’s an honest inquiry. Question why we have the armor that we do. Is it doing more harm than good? Are we projecting a danger that doesn’t really exist? Limbic system, thank you, but not now. Can we stand up straight and breathe in all that fear and confront what it is we’re hiding from, what are we fighting against?

Armor is designed to not let anything in that could harm you.

That also means love can’t get in either.

Who have we denied because we didn’t want to get hurt? What paths have we avoided because it meant we had to open our most vulnerable parts of ourselves? Being “on” all the time is exhausting. It sucks all the energy out of us. Could it be that the very facade we’ve put up is the main thing keeping us back from experiencing true joy?

Ah, it’s very risky. The odds are not in our favor. We’ve seen or perhaps only heard about the tragedy that ensues, and we’re not going there. No way!

To top it off, no amount of shielding can keep us safe and perfect. Something will end up puncturing the picturesque, Instagram-worthy life.

So why pretend? What game are we playing, and who’s winning? Take off your mask and lenses. Can we even do that—or are we too hardwired? Try anyway. Just try.

What we experience is terribly sublime. An ache so visceral we think we could die from its intensity. At first, it may feel like nothingness. A void. Space. A vastness we can’t possible survive.

Let go.

What does it take to realize all those walls have kept us from experiencing presence, compassion, and radical acceptance of what is?

We are miracles. Ponder as to how we are even here. Our essence surrounds us. We all pretty much want the same things: belonging, acceptance, and connection.

Put down those swords. Reach across the aisle. Forgive not just them, but you.

We’re born whole. And each day we are gifted with another breath is a good f*cking day to simply be.

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