"Showing Up" by Tommy Thompson

This was article was on my mind when I woke up this morning...one of my favorite writings by my Alexander teacher, Tommy Thompson.

Showing Up

( a way of meeting yourself being yourself in the process of change)

I ask myself this question…

Have I shown up this morning certain of who I am, fully satisfied and comfortable in my knowledge, insight and understanding?

OR

Have I shown up with horizon all around, my heart and mind a blank page to write that which I have never thought,

or anticipated I could perceive or understand,

allowing myself to be informed by,

and redefined by my experiences I will surely have.

For change to actualize,

I need to experience that moment of highest tension

between what I hold to be true,

and at that moment, let go of all I feel the need to hold onto,

and merge, meld, fall

and enter completely into the moment surfacing.

For me,

Change takes place when I see things for what they truly are,

or seem to be,

and not what I need for them to be.

then I let myself be moved by what I see,

and I am changed.

And I become the man,

and I become the woman

I become.

And, when I introduce myself to the next person I meet,

I will introduce myself to them, from who I have become

and not who I used to be.

For who I have become is now who I am.

I am present

For now, anyway,

Until I show up again with horizon all around,

eager for the blank page

© Tommy Thompson, Cambridge, MA 2007