I met Elle Luna two months ago.
Elle is the author of a great book entitled, ‘The Crossroads of Should and Must‘. It’s a book about finding and following your passion. A global best seller, I believe.
Elle was a big influence on me for a few reasons. She is very approachable. Elle’s really pleasant to be around. We were together for three days on-and-off in Wales.
In this time, Wales, and Elle were always sunny.
Openness
Elle is also very open about her own experiences. Some of them are quite quirky and unusual. But she talked to me about pivotal moments in her life as if I were an old friend. Elle is a very warm and engaging person to be with. Unworried about what I or anyone might think of her based on what she was sharing.
Elle was unafraid. She was just being herself. I wasn’t sure how Elle managed to be so calm.
Maybe it’s because she practices what she preaches? Elle does what she feels she Must instead of what society suggest she Should do.
First Steps
Elle describes the first step towards doing what you Must do, here:
“If you want to live the fullness of your life—if you want to be free—you must understand, first, why you are not free, what keeps you from being free. The word prison comes from the Latin praehendere, meaning to seize, grasp, capture. A prison doesn’t have to be a physical place; it can be anything your mind creates. What has taken ahold of you? The natural process of socialization requires that the individual be influenced by Shoulds in order to function as a part of society. However, as you grow up, it is healthy to be self-aware about the Shoulds you inherited. You might value and keep some Shoulds, while others you might choose to discard. If you want to know Must, get to know Should. This is hard work. Really hard work. We unconsciously imprison ourselves to avoid our most primal fears. We choose Should because choosing Must is terrifying, incomprehensible. Our prison is constructed from a lifetime of Shoulds, the world of choices we’ve unwittingly agreed to, the walls that alienate us from our truest, most authentic selves. Should is the doorkeeper to Must. And just as you create your prison, you can set yourself free.”
I am grateful to Elle for introducing this idea to me – the idea that we’re all empowered to free ourselves from the prison of Shoulds – because we created the prison in the first instance.
And all I could introduced Elle to was a flat cap. Albeit very nice flat caps, though.
And Elle does look great wearing it I think.
