How many times have you heard (or been told) this:

Suck it up.

Move forward.

Get on with it.

Quit your whining and just do it.

How many times have you told yourself that you have to keep it all together, when you felt like things were falling apart?

I saw a meme posted in a Facebook group recently that really got to me. It said “Just do it” and something like “Quit whining.”

I get so tired of hearing that. There’s definitely some truth to tripping up the Universe for a win – doing something different that makes you feel uncomfortable. But sucking it up requires you to shove your emotions down into your body and subconscious, so that they can build up over time and hit you over the head later on… which is very likely why you “get in your own way” now, when it comes to living your purpose.

For example, when I got on stage to sing for the first time, it wasn’t because I sucked it up. I did it because I had support. I was feeling anxiety and stage fright in the moment, and thinking of all the people in my life who didn’t like me or were mean to me. I was terrified that people would hate my singing and boo me off the stage like some people did at a school talent show when I was only about 5 years old. But this time, I had the support of my friends for over a year leading up to that moment on stage when I was 17. They inspired me to get up there. When I got up there, that feeling of being supported softened the anxiety and stage fright. If my friends had told me “oh, quit your whining and get up here and sing,” without encouraging me all that time, I probably would NEVER have gotten on stage. I had way too many experiences of people laughing at me, bullying me and just not hearing me. I had to work through the leftover grief and pain of those experiences in order to step into my purpose as a singer – and I had to do the same when I began working with healing energy.

Yes, some people talk or daydream about their dreams without ever making them come true, and they really will just never do what it takes to fulfill their calling. Sad but true. I hope you’re not that person. I hope you’re reading this because your desire to live out your purpose is pulling at you, and that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to step into that calling and let it lead you.

For those of you who have experienced trauma or if you’re energy-sensitive and empathic, it can be a real challenge to step into your calling, even when you want it badly like I did since I was 11 years old. That’s because you’re processing a lot of emotion OR you’re using a lot of your body fuel to suppress those emotions, like fear, shame, doubt or grief.

Sometimes there is a real palpable need to dream, whine, cry and wait. Sometimes that’s part of the divine plan because things aren’t set up for you yet energetically or emotionally, or because you’re going through something major right now.

When my son was murdered earlier this year, I couldn’t even think about living my purpose. I was in shock and processing more than most people will ever have to process, so my brain couldn’t handle anything else. With the support of my friends, mentors, counsellor/elder, healers and my own resiliency and teachings, NOW I can “just do it”. It took me several months to get to this point – with that support.

If I had done what I did when I lost my parents as a teenager and just squished down my grief and sucked it up, I would not be writing this right now. I might have lost it. I was afraid of losing my mind, seriously. But thankfully, I have been doing whatever it takes to get myself into a place where I really can let the pieces of me and my life fall to the ground, and pick them up one by one to arrange into a new form.

We are not meant to hold onto the unexpressed grief caused by trauma, abuse or empathic energy sensitivity. When we begin to move those unexpressed emotions up and out, with support, then we can release them and the memories don’t have to trigger us into trauma anymore.

Stepping into your calling becomes pleasure and not punishment when you are LOVED into your purpose.

You can start to change your self-beliefs NOW. And if those beliefs are coming from a place of past or current trauma, you can get support for releasing the build-up of unprocessed grief, fear, doubt and a feeling of having to hold everything together.

The problem is, you’re not just holding yourself together… you’re holding onto toxic beliefs and emotions that are stopping you. So before – or when – you “just do it”, you might need to get some support to burst the dam so the waterfall of your awesomeness can pour out, and you no longer have to carry the heaviness of what holds you back.

I know this is true for many people who have experienced trauma, or are just extremely energy-sensitive, because I’m living it now and have lived it many times before.

So let me just say… if you’ve been holding back, check in with yourself. If your desire to fulfill your purpose is strong, then take the necessary steps in front of you to activate and begin to live your purpose. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to take a huge leap in this very second. It might mean that you get support or some kind of training. It might mean you take some baby steps towards your purpose. It might mean you really do need to STOP and re-evaluate your identity and belief system (that’s me right now). And it might mean that you do need to take a major leap of faith right now.

Give yourself what you need in order to take that leap of faith.

Please don’t shame yourself into fulfilling your purpose. If you feel yourself being called, and you heed the call, it’s like you’re creating a big energy bubble around you that communicates with the Universe to help you get what you need.

If you’ve experienced trauma, especially around the subject of your calling, you may need that extra support in order to go there at all, because it might trigger unexpressed grief from that trauma. So doing the emotional processing and other work of moving the effects of trauma out of your body and mind is not the easy path, that is for sure, but for those of us who have that strong spiritual calling, it is the best path. Plus, once you’re on that path and stay on it, things do get easier. I’m not saying Dark Nights of the Soul won’t happen ever again, or that suddenly your life is going to be perfect. What I’m saying is, when you open to the power of your spiritual calling, and you do whatever it takes to honour it, a lot more opens up to you and how you think about things shifts your reality.

You definitely CAN do it, if you feel pulled towards your calling and your desire is strong, but you don’t have to be in a rush about it or let outside pressure force you to do it. Let your calling lead the way.

Got your own ideas or feedback about grief, trauma and sucking it up? Aha’s hitting you right now? Please share on the blog. I’d love to hear about it. (:

Love & Blessings,

Brenda MacIntyre, Medicine Song Woman

RESOURCES:

• Want to dive right in and get some support? Head over here.

FOLLOW ME ON SPOTIFY – MUSIC FOR THESE CRAZY TIMES:

• Follow My Artist Account on Spotify.
• Follow my Global Pandemic Playlist on Spotify. The studio (CD, not live) version of the songs I sang in the livestreamed concert are also in this playlist.
• Follow the RENEWAL Playlist for springtime on Spotify