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Wouldn't it be nice if someone could just give us a map of how to get from here to there on our personal growth journeys? What if there is no map? But there is a compass and maybe only you have access to it. You're listening to Relish, the podcast for people ready to stop chasing self-improvement and start savoring their lives. If you're tired of the hamster wheel of healing and hungry for more joy, presence, and meaning, you're in the right place. Hello friends, welcome back to Relish. I am Elysia and we are closing out this year with a quick bite for truth seekers. So, these people who feel that pull toward what's real, uh, not what's trendy or easy. And before we jump in,
I'm going to ask please follow the show, hit download on this episode, and if Relish has supported you at all this year, I would be so grateful if you would leave a five-star rating and a short review. It really helps this work reach more people who are craving authenticity and joy. So, thank you so much. All right, so I tend to resonate with this term truth seekers, but I think some people get confused about what it is. I know the phrase can sometimes sound like uh maybe someone who's pursuing spiritual learning and it can almost become like a bypass to gratitude or seem like uh a truth seeker is someone who knows everything, who knows all. That is not how I relate to the term. The way I see it, truth
seekers are not people who need to be right. Uh and they're not even people who need to know. They're people who are committed to understanding what's true. They are seeking truth. They have a deep internal desire to appreciate and discern reality to see reality clearly even when that's uncomfortable. Actually, especially when it's uncomfortable. Now, a lot of people avoid truth. And I think, you know, we all might have some avoidance patterns, but I imagine if you are drawn to this work and you're drawn to these conversations, you probably are a truth
seeker. You want to know the truth or you wouldn't be here. When the truth shows itself, a lot of people deny it. They distract from it. They bypass it. They rationalize it. And it's not because they're weak. It's because the truth can be hard to confront. You know, the truth can shatter our old identities that feel comfortable and safe. And the truth demands presence with that discomfort. And truth seekers, you even if you don't like discomfort, and who does, right? I imagine you would still rather feel the discomfort of clarity than the comfort of confusion.
Does that make sense? I really believe you want to know what's real, even if it asks something of you, something challenging. So many people enter self-improvement asking, you know, tell me what to do. Give me the steps. How do I get from A to Z? What's the strategy? What's the rule book? They're looking for a map. And really, they're usually looking for someone else's map, someone else to tell them what their own path should look like. But if someone hands you a map, I believe it really cannot be your path. And I see a lot of people trying to sell us their maps. That's basically what the self-improvement industry is. people telling you they've got it figured out.
You know, the sentiment is, "I did it. I got this transformation that you want, and now I'm going to tell you exactly what I did so that you can do it, too." And doesn't that feel so enticing and comforting? You know, of course, direction in a map offers some sense of hope and reassurance, but truth seekers eventually realize no one else can tell you the way. Because there is no one way. There's no right way. There's only the path that's true for you. I've said this before. Clients often ask me for the right thing to do when we're in a session, in a conversation, and we have to reframe the question from what's right to what's true. And often there is more than one possible right answer. Choosing what's
true means learning to trust yourself. So, this is a conflict I have. If I'm being honest, I always want to be transparent with you about my own journey and humanness. Um, I really struggle when it comes to monetizing self-improvement or even promoting content related to self-improvement in an authentic way. Because what I offer in my work is not a map. It's helping you learn to trust your own compass and create your own path. And I know that's not as, you know, sexy as what a lot of people suggest, which is I've got the map you need. Now, I'm always going to stay aligned with my truth and be in my integrity when I share anything with you. And I want to encourage you to pause and check in with yourself when
people tell you they have the map for you. One of my meditation teachers shared a teaching that they attributed to the Buddha. It's a sentiment that uh really stuck with me. I carry it everywhere with me now. And it's that you have to learn to think for yourself on this path. And the irony is I go on these retreats and work with other people, students, but it could also be, you know, other teachers and facilitators and a lot of them are not thinking for themselves. even teachers and mentors and guides, gurus, you know, they can maybe point to some direction, offer some direction, but they can illuminate what they've discovered. They can show you where they've walked and maybe we can learn
from that. But part of what mindfulness and meditation has taught me is that each of us has to walk and discover our own path. And we do that. You do that by observing your own mind, questioning your own beliefs and assumptions and testing every teaching that you might get from someone else against your own lived experience. Otherwise, it's not freedom. It's just following. So, this is one of my deepest intentions with relish. You know, I want you I my goal is to help you step off that hamster wheel of fixing. And that hamster wheel is fueled by the belief that there's a map. So, this is why I wanted to end this year and begin the next with this. I want to help you people find more meaning and joy and presence and less hustling for your
worthiness. And with that, I try to share, you know, what I've learned and what I continue to learn on my path. But your path, your path to freedom and to joy, it is not going to be the same as mine. And I don't want you to trust me or anyone over yourself. I want you to trust you. I kind of think of it like going on a big hike. If you've ever gone on a hike where you need a guide because it's so, you know, complex, a guide can show you the trail that they've walked. They can point out hazards. Uh they can show you the views. They can maybe even give you some shortcuts, but you still have to be the one to put one foot in front of the other and walk the path. And your route will inevitably be
different than mine or anyone's. You know, your path might twist or loop or stall out sometimes or surprise you. All of us that happens to, but only you can actually walk your path. Sometimes I have this little saying, guides over gurus. I appreciate guides. I have a lot of guides in my life. People that support me to still walk my own path and learn to trust my own path as opposed to gurus who ask us to walk their path. Another analogy that feels helpful for me. If a room is 70°, to me it could be cold. To you it could be warm. No one else can tell you whether you're warm or cold. There's no right in that scenario. There's only what's true for you and your internal
system is going to tell you that. So similarly, you are the only person can feel if you're hungry, if you're uncomfortable, if you're happy. And the same way you can only sense what feels aligned. Only you can know if something feels off. Only you can discern what your next step is. And only you can discover your truth. And you do that by learning to trust your inner compass. Not the fear in your mind, not your patterns, not the ego that's trying to be right, but the deeper, quieter knowing that only you can hear when you really become present to yourself. So people who seek truth, they learn to
trust that compass. And to discover that truth, it requires curiosity. We have to be willing to not know. in service of the truth. Socrates, Aristotle, um, Albert Einstein, you know, all these big thinkers, they nodded to a sentiment that the more I know, the less I know or the more I learn, the more I realize I know nothing. This feels really aligned with what I've discovered on my path. And the people that I trust most, the people that I feel have tapped into those moments of enlightenment, if you will, they are people who are willing to not know. I love paradoxes. So, as we close out the year, I want to offer you this. Maybe stop looking for a map and start listening for your compass. Your truth might not always
feel comfortable. Sometimes it might dismantle the life that you thought you were supposed to live, but it will lead you toward freedom and alignment and the life that you can actually relish. Truth seeking is not about being right. It's about being true and real, genuine. And the path to that realness is not a linear one. It's not going to match anyone else's, but it will be your path. And that's where your joy is going to live. Okay, so that's your quick bite. If this resonated, I would love if you'd share it with someone that you know is on their own self-discovery journey. And if you haven't yet, please follow the show, hit download, leave that five-star rating and review. It really supports
the work. Thank you for being here. Thank you for seeking truth and for choosing to live with more presence and authenticity this year. I'll see you in a couple days. And until then, go relish your life.
