Grounded a Punishment or a Pleasure ?

What does "grounded" mean to you? In current psycho-babel including parenting articles I have read, what I hear metaphysical folks chat about a lot, and even I heard a trainer at the YMCA saying it to a client. How often have you heard or been told:

• You are not grounded.
• Get grounded.
• They are not grounded.
• Are you grounded?
• Let's get you grounded.
  

A treasure hunt in Mom's basement had many artifacts to remind me that I have always been me. There is nothing else for us to do but be our Self. Why do we think it is different? How do you 'ground' you in You?

Do you as a parent or child as you have been one or the other or both, use that terminology? As a kid, getting "grounded" meant that I was not able to go play. The older I got the more difficult it was for my parents to ground my siblings or myself as a disciplinary action. We were all active in sports, working part-time jobs, and school or community organizations. I have always been a full on participant of life. For example, I was the President of the West Northwest District of the Illinois State Student Council with 44 schools in our district. I was a Pom Pom squad co-captain. I was in Student Council and Junior Class President. I starred in the Junior Class play.

The interests of my youth in the memorabilia stored for decades–from a rock collection, to concert tickets for Head East and Cheap Trick, to souvenirs from my summer in Finland as AFS Exchange Student–are hard evidence I've been true to myself for 58 years. How do you hear your soul song? What does it take for you to have evidence that you are living an authentic life? Do you have your archeological record of the choices you have made?

In the words of Head East, from the soundtrack of my life, "There has never been any reason for you to think about me." This song is about unrequited love. Yet the only person we can really "save for the last time...." is our Self. We do that by being grounded in our faith, our purpose, and our own ability to express the love we already are.  Of course as a speaker, author, wordsmith, teacher, and Spiritual Direction Coach...I want you to think about me! Yet, my work is not for you to be me. My job is to help you, and organizations, be more you.

In the meantime, I've returned to the ground I landed on as a soul incarnate. Now it is the land of my herstory holds memories on the country roads I travel that awaken a new love in me, for me. The courage to live our dreams is easier when we are grounded. It is also easier when we realize when Cheap Trick wrote  "...surrender, but don't give yourself away!" because we are "...all all right!"