Thursday, April 25, 2013

What makes YOU a REBEL?


Rebellion: the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention.



I like rebellion.  And what I think I like about it most is that it’s a universal act of humanness.

The have’s-way-too-fricken-much-for-their-own-damn-goods (or anyone else's for that matter), the have's-enough-to-live-happilies, the have’s-a-little-and-struggling-to-make-its, and the have's-not-a-pot-to-piss-ins all find their means for rebellion in some form or another.  

In my efforts to grow my understanding of this intriguing thing that we all do, I spent some time mapping out the why’s… the fundamental root-whys into our acts of rebellion and came up with the following (please keep in mind that these are all from my own head, and I highly welcome and encourage further dialogue on the matter):


We rebel for survival. To fight for our freedom and basic human needs, to confront corruption in the face of an ever-present saga of inequality.

We rebel to discover and assert our individuality.  To become a unique "I", to write ourselves into an interesting story, to create a legacy of our existence.

We rebel for the greater good. To join forces, to fight the good fight by establishing a “we” identity, to give ourselves a loud enough voice to be heard, to make a sustainable impact. 

We rebel for the shit of it.  To find the limits, to experience the edge, to grow our souls.



We must rebel to find ourselves, to survive in a meaningful way, to grow our souls and work toward fixing the wrong.  

To be a balanced rebel is to participate on every level.

A balanced rebel has strength & power, courage and hope.

A balanced rebel makes shit happen. 


A balanced rebel understands limits – by always trying and testing.

A balanced rebel learns how to feel comfortable in discomfort.

A balanced rebel is connected with who they are – is aware of their gifts, their limitations, their emotional landscape.

A balanced rebel has outlets, a means for digesting and releasing information and creative energy.

A balanced rebel recognizes patterns and breaks in patterns, cycles, and mystery.

A balanced rebel follows the rules when the Greater Good is at stake.

A balanced rebel seeks out wisdom in others, asks the right questions, and understands that questions bring us to knowledge and having them is more important then having answers.

A balanced rebel seeks the good in others and situations.

A balanced rebel is thorough and thoughtful in their decisions.

A balanced rebel pays attention to the signs – to synchronicities and coincidences and sees them not as acts of randomness but as guides and validations.  

A balanced rebel fights for what they believe, and will do what it takes to turn dreams into reality.

A balanced rebel is not afraid of Love.

A balanced rebel knows the difference between power and force and relies on the former for plans of actions.

A balanced rebel believes in him or herself even in times when they stand alone.

A balanced rebel leads with their heart – keeps it open – is intentional about demolishing old walls constructed to guard against old hurt.

A balanced rebel does not fear pain.

A balanced rebel does not fear pain.

A balanced rebel does not fear pain.

A balanced rebel knows how to breathe.



I invite you to share your stories of rebellion – on any level. 


In peaceful progress,
Halley

9 comments:

Amanda Sansoterra said...

I find the definition of Rebellion and how you've defined it an interesting juxtaposition of good and bad. All of your thoughts of how we rebel are quite positive in nature, but I believe when one hears the word rebel or rebellion, it denotes negativity and we immediately think of bad things, the "bad-boy rebel." Interesting....

Galen said...

Rebellion is the first step towards change. If I may critique I think you dont give enough boundaries to what it means to be a rebel to understand how one can be a balanced rebel. In fact I think the word you are looking for is revolutionary - someone with the a rebel nature, willing to standup for what they know is right(you may think they're wrong) and have the discipline to follow through with a changed behavior. A true rebel is often more stubborn and less organized working against control but when rebelling against and working together are balanced out (some control can be good) you have a revolutionary. They both can be either good or bad. In looking at our current situation it is good to rebel against the control willed over us by our government and large corporate structures, it helps us distance ourselves from their exploitative, stifling methods and gives us confidence in spite of their fear mongering but in order to break away, to not live an entire life rebelling or damning future generations to more of the same we have to revolutionize the way we interact with eachother, the planet but especially with ourselves. Finding the rebel inside is the first step.

Unknown said...

Well, her blog IS named "The Good Quest" :)

Unknown said...

I agree Halley. You definitely need to break a few rules. Sometimes. The world is set up for us to follow a "pattern" in order to survive. A pattern that's preset for a lot of people. The rebel-mindset goes against the grain, just like a diamond, that must endure the pressure and heat to shine bright.

jen said...

I would (have?) consider(ed?) myself a rebel. Yet at the time when I was most "rebellious" I was the most unhappy. It was more in a space of politics and fighting against "the man". Of being angry all of the time. And I was in my early 20's.

another thing about rebelling for me was also just a pattern of co-dependency that i did out of reaction. not a thoughtful nor helpful pattern.

"In reaction to co-dependence many people become counter-dependent, defying or rebelling against authority, against intimacy, against law, against their own dependency needs. They reject dependency in themselves and others."

so having moved 20 years past this developmental stage and after having done much work on this pattern, "rebelling" to me takes on a different form. It means living my truth, which sometimes goes against how the rest of the world thinks and lives, so if some would define that as rebellion, maybe i am still a rebel? although i think of it more as just flowing with the universal energy, letting the river take you where you need to go, neither fighting nor resisting.

A quote that freed me from thinking about how I fit in to all of this is "You neither need to rebel nor conform." Richard Rohr

I just found this from him as well: "People in the second half of life are not rebels. If you're a rebel, you're still trapped in the first half. That's not wisdom yet. At the wisdom stage, you don't need to rebel or hate or oppose."

Halley Miglietta said...

Such insight. such wisdom. Thank you for your thoughts and ideas, and the energy you put into expanding collective understanding. <3

sole2soul said...

There are many things that make me a rebellion, but will share first one I enjoy most. I run stupid stop signs. Yep, when confronted with ANY stop sign which has no place on the road.... I simply don't stop. Feels great ! Truly, for me to stop would make me feel.... stupid.

sole2soul said...

There are many things that make me a rebellion, but will share first one I enjoy most. I run stupid stop signs. Yep, when confronted with ANY stop sign which has no place on the road.... I simply don't stop. Feels great ! Truly, for me to stop would make me feel.... stupid.

sole2soul said...

There are many things that make me a rebellion, but will share first one I enjoy most. I run stupid stop signs. Yep, when confronted with ANY stop sign which has no place on the road.... I simply don't stop. Feels great ! Truly, for me to stop would make me feel.... stupid.