Stripping for your Soul

Do you ever just feel the urge to strip? To just peel off all the layers and toss them aside? Perhaps whip those layers overhead and swing them around like a lasso?

I do! In fact I have declared this year, 2012, the year to strip.

Now before your breathing gets all hot and heavy, let me explain. I am not planning on making a career change into 'exotic dancing' anytime soon. Nor am I planning to go 'streaking across the quad into the gymnasium' like Will Ferrell in Old School. I would traumatize a lot of people if I did that, and probably end up with frostbite this time of year!

I'm talking about the kind of stripping for your soul. Getting rid of all the barriers that keeps you from living your dreams. Stripping off the layers of fear and other uninvited guests so that you can be you.

So this year I've been trying to be more authentic, to not let fear hold me back as much and to dare myself to be out there more...to be more exposed.

Standing in front of people as You: Unplugged, your soul exposed and naked, your red, beating heart sitting right out there on your shoulder, isn't easy. In fact a lot of times it downright sucks.

As I write this, I'm chuckling at the irony: some fiction writer (read: writes made up and pretend things) from some blog who's real name isn't Christina Esdon (close, but no cigar) is writing about being real? *pause for eye rolling* Wait! Don't go yet. Stick with me for another paragraph or two.

I was thinking about the idea of stripping a lot today as I spontaneously decided to rip off the wallpaper in my bathroom. My other bathroom has literally been stripped back to the studs for weeks and it kinda sucks. Although I've been going to the gym more often. Might as well workout since I'm going to be showering there anyway! Back to my point - sometimes you need to strip something back to the studs, to get to where we want to go. I could paint over top of the wallpaper in my one bathroom, but it would look horrible and it wouldn't be what I wanted.  Same goes for my life. If I want to get writing, then I need to peel back all the layers (in a seductive way, of course ;)) that are keeping me from writing and move forward with just my own words to cover me. Until I do that, wanting to be a writer will continue to be a fleeting dream. My characters will keep having conversations in my head and continually wonder when they're going to get onto the page.

So, here I stand in front of you, my trench coat on (and a hat of course - it is winter, you know), cheesy music playing in the background. I'm ready to strip. Off with the stuff that holds me back and on with more unabashed fun with writing (and who knows what else?!).

Get all of the kids and anyone with a pacemaker out of the room, I'm about to unbutton my coat.