Is Your Greatness in Your Way? by Rev. Tara Steele

Decades ago, my grandmother and I were chatting on her living room couch. At some point, she looked at me and said, “You’re so smart, you could be president.” Though she meant well, that statement set up roadblocks of self-judgment and not-enoughness around what I was doing with my life. Perhaps you’ve had similar experiences?

If I could be President of the United States, anything less than that is a failure. “You’re only a [fill in the blank], you could be so much more!” Now and then, when I look back at my life, I still question whether I lived up to my potential.

“Whole, perfect, and complete.” “This life is God’s life, this life is perfect, this life is my life now.“ I remember shaking my head at the naivete of those statements when I first heard them in a church of religious science. Aware of my limitations, my failures, my regrets, how could I be perfect? There was some unconscious template, a hidden belief, about what wholeness, perfection, “greatness” meant. Whatever it was, it was always a bit beyond my reach.

A couple of antidotes work for me. The first is recognizing what I have accomplished. After getting by the voices in my head, I smile in gratitude for my daughter, for my ministry, for my friends. Those aren’t entirely my accomplishments; they are signs of a life well lived, just the way it is. That’s the second antidote, remembering I am perfect, just the way I am.

What if I am perfect, from the moment I gasped for breath and cried? How does that idea impact me? The first thing I notice is a feeling of relief that I don’t have to keep working at doing better, striving for that goal of greatness just out of reach? Then there’s a smile that starts deep within, that leans into a sense of okayness, of acceptance, of ease. There is also surrender or alignment, opening to accept there is no need for fixing. Spirit’s got me and adores me, just the way I am. Of course, that is so, for I am one with That.

Full circle, into the greatness, the possibility, the aliveness – without having to change anything, fix anything, figure anything out. Being present, letting go, smiling – all is well. I am free to allow the unique beauty within to unfold, just the way I am. Glory hallelujah, it’s great!

Rev. Tara Steele is a minister at the Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa. Since beginning her service, she has been Staff Minister, Community Minister, and now Education Minister. Whatever her label, she delights in circles where participants connect and share their experiences, their knowledge, and their questions. It may be a class on wholeness, a book study, or a weekly gathering of mystics.

The oldest of five children, she is finally learning it’s way more fun to collaborate on projects than it is to tell everyone what they should do. It’s time for more play.