I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

Michelangelo - 1475 - 1564

We spend so much of life trying to add things in. More goals. More success. More followers. More validation.
We chase “more” as if it will finally make us whole.

A great deal of the work I do with my clients is in helping them do some or all of the above.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that the real work might be in taking away?

Plotinus, the philosopher-mystic, offered a different path:

“Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue... cut away all that is excessive, straighten all that is crooked, and bring light to all that is overcast…”

This isn’t self-help hype. It’s soul work.
He wasn’t talking about fixing what’s broken.
He was speaking to the deeper work of revealing what’s already within.

That’s why Michelangelo’s words are so profound:

He didn’t create the angel.
He released it.

And you, too, are sculpting something. Not out of stone, but out of your choices. Your breath. Your habits. Your truths.

This isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s about becoming undeniably you.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that instead of thinking what you need more of to be better, you decide what you need to let go of to be free?

For the mind, the most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves. Your internal negative voice is accepted as truth when really, it’s just noise you’ve never questioned.

Let go of the need to believe every thought that passes through your mind.
Not all of them are wise. Not all of them are yours.
Some were planted long ago by fear, failure, or someone else's story.
You don't need to argue with them, stop giving them your full attention.
Clarity often comes not from thinking more, but from thinking less noise and more truth.

For the Body, understand it speaks in sensations, not words. Energy never lies. Daily actions must be designed around vitality, not just survival and longevity.

Let go of the need to push through fatigue, ignore tension, or mask discomfort with distraction.
Your body is not a machine, it’s a messenger.
Treat every ache, every spike of energy, every drop in mood as information, not inconvenience.
The goal isn't to look good in the mirror, but to feel alive behind the eyes.
When you honour the body, you don’t just extend life, you expand it.

For the Spirit, your soul remembers who you are, even when you forget.

Let go of the need to prove your worth, chase validation, or become what others expect of you.
The soul doesn’t perform, it persists.
It speaks in stillness, not noise. In alignment, not applause.
You don’t need to go searching for who you are, you only need to listen deeply enough to remember.
Because beneath the masks, the milestones, and the striving; the very easiest version of you to put out there is the very version of your original design. You.
You don’t need to be searching for enlightenment, finding yourself is remembering who you were from the outset.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be, that you recall your earliest memories of you?

The day after my first daughter Annabelle was born, the obstetrician came to check on her and told me with considerable pride that he had examined over 35,000 babies in his time and she was perfect.

He exclaimed her perfection after laying her lengthwise along his forearm and holding both her hands, lifting her slightly and letting her fall back onto his forearm.

She grabbed for the thin air and then he put a small soft earphone in her ear canal. He told me it plays soft clicking sounds. A tiny microphone detects whether the cochlea (inner ear) responds with an echo. If the cochlea is working properly, it will emit a sound back, which confirms the baby hears at least part of the sound range.

He said “Humans are born with two innate fears, hardwired into our nervous system as evolutionary survival mechanisms”

I raised my eyebrows not quite understanding if he had already told me or I was suppose to guess what they were.

“The Fear of falling and the fear of loud noises.”

All other fears are learned, through experience, socialization, or trauma.
Which is why it’s powerful to remember if we were born with only two fears, then every other one we carry is optional, learned, conditioned, and potentially unlearned.

You don’t need another layer of marble. You need a chisel, and some courage.

Because underneath all the clutter, comparison, and chaos,
There’s still a masterpiece waiting to be unveiled.

While you’re thinking about that, think about this and have a Gr8 day!

Be well.

DL

"Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue... he cuts away here, he smooths there, he makes this line lighter, this other purer, until a lovely face has grown upon his work. So do you also: cut away all that is excessive, straighten all that is crooked, bring light to all that is overcast, labor to make all one glow of beauty and never cease chiseling your statue, until there shall shine out on you the godlike splendor of virtue, until you see the perfect goodness surely established in the stainless shrine."

Plotinus - 204-270 AD - The Enneads, Ennead I.6.9: “On Beauty."