Leave Some Stones Unturned: The Difference Between Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion

I had an insightful session with a client this week who wanted to work on improving her metabolism. As we addressed physical and energetic imbalances related to her metabolism and heart chakra, I received a profound intuitive download that said "leave some stones unturned." 

What this phrase illuminated for me was the difference between self-awareness and self-compassion on our journeys of growth and healing. Self-awareness involves continuously digging to understand why we are the way we are - our traumas, patterns, emotional triggers, etc. It's being in fix-it mode, thinking "What's next? How can I improve more?" 

This fix-it mentality often stems from old beliefs that we are not good enough or never quite measure up. However, self-compassion invites us to love ourselves as we are in the present moment. It's the feeling that you already are complete, worthy, and deserving of love without needing to change or improve. 

The wellness industry can unintentionally feed the cycle of chasing self-improvement, even under the guise of greater self-awareness. But "leave some stones unturned" is a reminder that constant digging and analyzing do not necessarily lead to wholeness. We can direct gentleness, kindness and acceptance toward our current state rather than judgment or criticism that we still have wounds to fix.

Working on ourselves is not inherently bad, but when coming from a place of unworthiness, it can reinforce those harmful beliefs. True healing invites us to rest in our inherent worthiness here and now, without conditions.

My client's body wisdom knew exactly what she needed to hear - that it's okay to let yourself be worthy and deserving of love as you are, without doing anything else. Self-compassion is not about stopping all growth work, but recognizing our completeness amidst it. We all deserve to leave some stones unturned and embrace the wholeness within us.

Xo Megan