There Is Nothing Wrong With Your Layers
In this month’s first blog, Lianne Hofer explored how to Honor Our Layers. She used the metaphor of a Cabbage to teach us about healing, happiness and letting go.
This blog further explores how layers are a source of learning and growth, not an indication that there is something wrong or flawed.
Perhaps this is one of the most important things we can learn.
Your layers are not evidence that something is wrong with you. They are evidence that you have lived, and every layer has a story.
- Some layers are painful, protective, outdated, and yes, some are beautiful.
- Some of those layers still nourish you while others have served their purpose.
- Some layers are ready to be released.
That doesn’t mean we need to hate the layer we are removing.
- We can thank it for what it did for us.
- We can honor it and acknowledge what it gave us. This is how we can let it go.
Lianne Hofer –
Author, Speaker, Coach
Here’s where the cabbage metaphor gets really interesting.
- The more layers we remove, the more compact and tender the center becomes.
- There isn’t some giant, dramatic revelation waiting for us.
- There is simply…more of ourselves.
- There is more truth, clarity, choice, space, and possibility.
There is another reason I love the cabbage as a metaphor.
- Cabbage is hardy and can grow in a variety of conditions and remains remarkably useful and nourishing.
- It can be eaten raw, cooked, fermented, wrapped around other foods, added to soups, and transformed in countless ways.
- There is something beautiful about that versatility.
Give Yourself Grace
Life asks us to be adaptable. We don’t always get to choose the conditions in which we grow.
- Difficult conditions don’t automatically mean we cannot grow; they teach us how resilient we are, they show us what matters, they can make us more compassionate.
- Sometimes they make us more willing to question the stories we have been carrying, and sometimes they lead us to discover strengths we didn’t know were there.
- That doesn’t mean we need to romanticize difficult experiences; it means we can recognize that our history doesn’t have to dictate our future.
Green Growth
When I think about a cabbage, I also think about its color.
- Green is the color of growth and renewal.
- Green represents life.
- For me, green also brings me back to the idea of heart space.
What happens when we create more space in our hearts? There is more room for ourselves, for other people, for joy, for possibility and, most importantly, for happiness.
Perhaps that is what letting go is really about. It is not about creating emptiness; it is about creating space. Space for the next layer, for something new, for who you are becoming.
Our Layers
I like to think about our own layers as:
- Who we were.
- Who we are.
- Who we are becoming.
All three deserve compassion, and who we were deserves understanding, acceptance, and encouragement.
We don’t have to erase the first to embrace the third; we can honor our history without living inside it.
We can acknowledge what happened without allowing it to define everything that happens next and look at the layers without becoming trapped by them.
Take Time
You don’t need to peel it all away today.
- Perhaps there is simply a wall you’ve built that you are finally ready to examine.
- You don’t have to dismantle the entire wall today.
- You don’t have to remove every layer.
- You certainly don’t have to have all the answers.
Start Small
Start with what is already pulling away.
- Start with the layer that is ready. Remove it gently.
- See what’s underneath and honor what you find.
- When you’re ready, remove another piece.
Healing Steps
Growth doesn’t have to be dramatic to be profound, and healing doesn’t have to be linear to be real. Happiness doesn’t have to wait until you’ve finished the work; sometimes happiness is found within the work itself.
Happiness shows up in the tiny moments of freedom, the growing awareness, in the space you create and the parts of yourself you rediscover. Happiness is in the realization that you are still here and there is still so much life ahead.
Cabbage Wisdom
Perhaps the next time you see a cabbage, you might look at it a little differently.
- Not as something to rush through but as a reminder that you are allowed to have layers and remove them slowly.
- You are allowed to honor the ones that protected you and release the ones that no longer serve you.
- You are allowed to discover yourself in pieces and find happiness along the way.
Suggested Goal
Because the goal is to become more fully you.
One layer, bit, choice, breath at a time.
And YOU are enough… Hugs, Lianne
Lianne Hofer decided at the age of 4 to BE HAPPY.
Now, she is a TEDx speaker, two-time award-winning international best-selling author, and happiness champion who helps people transform their lives by transforming their spaces.
Lianne believes clutter impacts far more than our homes; it influences our happiness, relationships, confidence, and success. Through her guided journal, What You Are Looking For Is Buried Under Your Clutter, and her inspiring speaking and workshop engagements, Lianne empowers people to release what no longer serves them and create space for greater joy, clarity, and purpose.
Her message is simple: when you transform your space, you transform your life.
Amazon link: https://a.co/d/02PprmSm or https://tinyurl.com/clutterjournal
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I am glad you have taken the time to engage with this blog. Sometimes it is helpful to process new insights that emerge. If you would appreciate brief time with a someone who understands, our Talk to Tambry offering is for you. For 30 minutes, you can receive support from Tambry who is a certified life coach, spiritual director and a survivor who has been on the journey as well. This is offered at a reduced rate of $50.
