In 2013 I read hundreds of books, but I have to say that those that really stuck with me (both fiction and non-fiction) were the ones that included something that I could see pieces of myself in. A perfect example of such a title is IMPERFECT SPIRITUALITY by Polly Campbell. This book was just the kind of resource I and others need to realize the importance of who we are today and the many reasons we have to love ourselves.
Thankfully I was able to connect with the author and during our conversation we discussed not just the book but how it is making a difference in the lives of others by just stating this basic truth: You are enough.
"It's been inspiring and gratifying for me," Campbell says when I asked her about the response. "This message resonates with them but they're teaching me as well. Many of us are saddled with this concept that we need to live up to some ideal, that we have to be somehow different than how we are to be accepted." She admits that this was a part of how she lived but something changed. "I don't do that anymore. I decided that I'm imperfect. I got all this stuff, good and bad, within me. When I found my way through imperfect spirituality I really became free and liberated to live a whole life." It is that message that is also speaking to people around the world.
One of the big lessons that I learned in IMPERFECT SPIRITUALITY is the importance of realizing your value and where you can find real happiness. "People are realizing that the solution to these things is not outside of us any more," Polly says. "That's not working. It's within us, and when we realize that we are good enough to handle whatever comes we are free to do it." The process can be scary but it's necessary. "Often we have outgrown our value systems," she explains. In order to move forward we have to reexamine where we are and where we want to go. "When we know our values we can move towards them."
A great deal of this process of not just loving yourself for who you are but recognizing the gifts you bring has a great deal to do with being one within yourself. "I think a lot of times our mind and our heart are separate," Polly says. "I want to bring those things back into alignment." To do that, however, takes courage, something that she writes about a great deal in IMPERFECT SPIRITUALITY. "Courage is the thing that gives us movement. Without it we are stuck. Anytime you step into a transition in your life it requires some courage. It's an innate quality. The rest can be developed. The best way to learn is to practice it."
Polly told me that in just reading the book IMPERFECT SPIRITUALITY readers are showing they have the courage necessary to go further. This means that you have to be open to what can be and be willing to surrender when you believe you can't go any further.
"Surrender is about being aware of myself both as a marvel and something that is so small and minute that I can't manage the entire universe by myself," she says. "When I am able to give up that element of control there is nothing but peace because then there's room for optimism and faith to push in. I make space for the larger possibility."
In the book she talks about the various ways we can show this courage and surrender. It can be as easy as stepping out of your comfort zone. "The reason I was saying no was because I was fearful. It was easier to say no. What I realized is that my life became really restrictive. It's our nature to be creative and expansive. The energy of yes is different than the energy of no.
"When we say yes the energy in our life shifts where we attract greater possibilities and people to us. The energy of yes pushes us towards our passions and purposes and makes space for things to arrive."
Are you ready to see where you can go in the New Year? If so it begins with a decision. Find out more about Polly Campbell's own transformation and how you can begin your own at www.imperfectspirituality.com.
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