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Following Your Untamed Spirit

Have you ever noticed that inspiration quickly fades the moment it’s bound by rules, the need for approval and the fear of risk-taking?

Inspiration is the voice of our hearts and must be acted on swiftly. If we don’t it’s hard to avoid the avalanche of negative thoughts that act like a washing machine to clean, tumble dry and wring out every last inch of originality and passion.

Our untamed spirits strive to alert us to opportunities that enhance and enrich our lives, if only we learn to listen.

How do you know if you’re following your untamed spirit?

following your untamed spirit

Are you listening to the desires of your heart? Or, are you simply hearing the opinions of other’s swirling in your mind and squashing your enthusiasm? Here are some clues that you are, in fact, following your untamed spirit:

  • You seek your own approval above all. Meaning, you respect the opinions of others, however, you don’t base your decisions on them.
  • You’re bound to yourself, rather than merging your personality into another’s for security and validity.
  • You don’t have a checklist to tick off an outdated philosophy of life, that amounts to a high-paying career, marriage, a house, children and retirement. If you want to do anything, you do so out of passion for it rather than following the blueprint of ancestors living in a very different world to ours. Unless, of course, that blueprint is your heart’s desire.
  • You’re more interested in the journey than the destination and you allow life to flow without resistance.
  • You’re not waiting for a better job, a life-partner or any of the society-dictated ‘must haves’ to be happy. You like your life as it is and you continually create the circumstances you need, rather than the ones other people think you should have.
  • You say ‘Yes’ to opportunities to enrich your life. You know that fear of taking risks and losing security is nothing more than that wonderful acronym, F.E.A.R,  ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’ (unless you’re being chased by a bear).
  • You don’t use your age as a benchmark for deciding what you should or should not be doing. You know it’s completely irrelevant, as your spirit is eternally the essence of YOU, not a number with society-driven associations attached to it.
  • You know you’re responsible for your emotions, reactions and responses to other people and external circumstances.

Why you’re not following your untamed spirit

following your untamed spirit

The trickiest part about following your untamed spirit is that you may often find yourself in the minority. For example, free-spirited women who choose to be single because they love living life that way, are still talked about behind closed doors and pitied for their apparent inability to keep a man.

Truth be told, many women who love being single, are generally the most coveted due to elusive, fascinating qualities. They often choose to remain single, as they know they don’t require a man to make them happy. When and if they choose to have relationships, they do so on their own terms, without any fear, past issues or neediness getting in the way of harmony.

The term ‘free-spirit’ is sometimes associated with irresponsibility and flippant behaviour. Following your untamed spirit actually means the complete opposite. With freedom, you take all responsibility onto yourself. If freedom means working for yourself, for example, you’re not bound by others telling you exactly what to do, when to do it and how much you’ll get paid for it.

Free-spirits find this invigorating and challenging, while other’s like to be bound by rules, because it means they don’t have to step out of their comfort zone. Following your untamed spirit requires total commitment to stepping out of your comfort zone. In fact, if you’re not regularly challenged, you’re not growing. You’re simply sitting in a stagnant pond, full of the repetitive thoughts of others.

That’s not to say your life must be full of adrenalin-inducing, risk-taking adventures. Meditating, relaxing, embracing silence and spending time with loved ones are activities that sing to your soul and open your mind further to exploring your heart’s desires. These activities increase a sense of peace and tranquillity beneath any external chaos. It’s all about continually and consciously choosing the right path for you, whatever that is.

This means taking full responsibility for your own happiness, which is why free-spirited people are often so vivacious, enthusiastic and happy. It means living life based on the pull of desire, rather than necessity or a need to fit in. Anything, from washing the dishes to gardening, marriage, travelling solo or watching the grass grow can be an inspiring adventure, if you choose it to be so.

Inspiration and passion are two of our most valuable guides in life. As soon as you feel the nudge, which usually appears as a lightning bolt idea, butterflies in your stomach or the urge to giggle your head off at the mere thought of something, take one step towards it. Ignore the doubts you’ve most likely inherited from others.

That’s all your untamed spirit needs, to lead you towards your dreams.

First published on The Huffington Post

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