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Losing Relationships in the Midst of Finding Ourselves

Is this a part of the self-growth process?

I chose to call my column “Heartfelt Conversations with Emilie” because I wanted to hold conversations that can be uncomfortable and share topics that we tend to avoid or dismiss in the spiritual realm.

The path to healing while in our spiritual journey is not easy. Healing is the most challenging journey we can take but also the most rewarding one. We unlearn what we have learned and heal our deepest wounds to find our true selves. It is an incredible adventure that demands courage to challenge our pain and strength to gain self-mastery through self-inquiry.

It is a path that only makes sense to us most of the time. As we grow and get close to ourselves by letting go of what does not serve us, we can also experience the alienation and the firm opinion of those who simply don’t understand our choices and the path we are walking on. It can be challenging.

When I was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disorder nineteen years ago, I had taken the pharmaceutical protocol given by my specialist for a year until I decided to stop everything and find the root cause of this illness. I had an understanding that the physical pain was reflecting my emotional pain. It was scary because I was entering the unknown and challenging the white coat at the same time. I certainly needed cheerleading and support from the people around me.

Surprisingly, I did not receive the support I was expecting. Most of the people around me were questioning my choices. How could I make these decisions based on the books I was reading? How was healing my emotional wounds going to help me with treating my illness? How were taking natural supplements and changing my diet helpful for a disease that doesn’t have a cure?

Questions bombarded me, and every answer turned into more questions. I could feel that most people around me thought I was wrong and thought I had lost my senses from the world of body, mind, and soul connection brainwashing me. Someone close to me had even asked, “How could I be so irresponsible?” It became evident that the less I shared with certain people, the better. Slowly and organically, some people faded away and became nonexistent in my life.

My mother’s passing pushed me to deepen my healing as I faced my deepest wounds and felt despair. Grieving my mom inspired me to heal these wounds, and later on, I became a holistic professional. We may expect that our closest friends and family will support and understand our journey, but this can sometimes be far from the truth. 

People can only meet others at the level they meet themselves. As we heal and evolve, we will naturally outgrow habits and activities that we once used to do. Our interests and focus will change organically, and our tolerance for what doesn’t serve us will be filtered. In other words, change will happen, and this is a part of the process of our spiritual journey. Such change can be very uncomfortable for those who are attached to the old version of ourselves.

I also firmly believe that we are the mirror of one another.

Have you ever listened to someone sharing their personal challenges with the solutions they found for themselves and thought to yourself that perhaps it was time to act on what was needed in your life? I know I have done this many times, and I have experienced the same working with hundreds of clients over a decade.

Witnessing change in people can be inspirational or triggering for some, as not everyone is self-aware or ready to reconnect with who they are.

As we refer to conscious or unconscious breathing, people can be unconscious in life, but turning on the switch and becoming conscious is a choice that only we can make, and no one else.

I genuinely believe that it all comes down to the choices we make in life. Looking at ourselves on a deeper level, facing our traumas and conditioning patterns, and challenging ourselves to dig deeper all take tremendous courage and readiness.

Our spiritual journey is not a race. Each of us has a pace, and this journey is to be walked on our own most of the time. The waves have to be surfed by us. We all need assistance, help, and guidance, that is for sure, but creating change in our lives is our doing and no one else’s.

Looking for validation or understanding outside ourselves can be a challenge because not everyone around us will be able to fulfill the expectations we may have. Being compassionate towards ourselves will help us understand the people around us and allow us to hold compassion and understanding as we meet others where they are in their journeys.

Our transformation can initially be triggering and challenging because people are attached to what they know of us. With time, those who love us unconditionally and witness our happiness will come around, embrace our change, and may be inspired if they are meant to be around us. The ones who came into our lives to stay only for a season or to teach us a lesson will question our journey, try to guilt us, or simply and organically fade away.

It can be sad to see people fade away from our lives, but if they do, it is because they weren’t supposed to walk with us in the first place.

When we reconnect with our true selves and nurture a deep relationship with ourselves, we will no longer allow people to threaten our inner peace.

As we raise our vibration and energy, time and space will become precious treasures that are protected and shared only with those we choose to share them with.

It is called self-love and self-care.

I would like to leave you with one thing today as you read this article. The most incredible adventure we can take on in life is undoubtedly finding who we truly are, and for that, we need to heal our wounds. This adventure is made of disappointments along the way, and it can be lonely at times as we face our shadows and deepest wounds.

Only some people will be our cheerleaders and support us in this journey of acceptance towards ourselves and others. Still, by reminding ourselves that people around us can only understand us through their level of awareness, they can only meet us at the level they meet themselves.

By watching people become less present in our lives and letting go of the ones who are no longer part of them, we also create space for new people to enter our lives who match our vibrations and energy and inspire and uplift us.

Be curious, venture, and leap onto this fantastic journey of self-discovery for yourself and not for others.

By Émilie Macas