October 2023

52
Wanstead Village Directory
do you belong?” is a much
more powerful and important
“How
question than: “Where do you
belong?” Belonging is a basic, almost
primal, human need. We can strive for it,
fight for it, manoeuvre for it, and even
muscle our way into it. Our intense need
for belonging can create incredible chaos
in our lives and the lives of those around
us. We have deep questions about what
is necessary – what we must be or do – to
belong, and often in our best attempts to
answer them, we create a false self and
abandon our truest self. That loss of self is
not only felt at the core of who we are but it
is an incredible loss for the world.
When we take a close, focused look at the
world, it’s not too difficult to imagine a stage
of masquerading identities. In our efforts to
make our way in the world, we compromise a
little here and conform a little there. We may
even push or prod to feel strong and powerful
because feeling weak is terrifying. Others may
intimidate us to elevate their own sense of
power. In effect, the gift we are intended
to be for the world is manoeuvred into
submission and even silence. We lose.
The world loses. And if all our efforts to
garner belonging are based on the projection
of what is false, what would happen if we
lived from what is true? Authenticity can be
terrifying! It often leaves us feeling exposed.
How do we shake the dirt of conformance
and compromise off our feet and flourish in
the deeply seeded, eternal purpose planted
inside us? How do we show up authentically,
trusting there is a place of belonging and
a purpose intended for our specific design
– that we have been crafted precisely to
accomplish something only made possible by
our uniqueness? Our souls will always know
that if we belong based on a false projection,
then the real us still doesn’t belong. We have
denied, even forfeited ourselves and pretence
is required to remain in this false
belonging. Manny’s inspired story
and journal will take you on a
journey of discovery back to
your truest true strength and
power. The world needs the
‘youness’ only you can offer it.
The story of Manny Motorcycle’s Miracle is for
anyone who has ever felt like an imposter or
pretender, struggled to fit in, been bullied
or been a bully, questioned their own
strength, power and unique contribution, or
compromised who
they are or what
they know is right
for the sake
of belonging
and lost
themselves
along the
way.
Stories
and art are
powerful
tools that
bypass our
logical brains
and reach
us at deeper
levels, making
them incredibly
transformative.
This is why
this book is
written and
illustrated as
a children’s
book. Big
changes in
our souls
require us to
become as
children. Embrace the biggest change
in your life through this fanciful story
of the false identities we accumulate
trying to answer our deepest
questions.
Manny Motorcycle’s Miracle is available in
hardback and paperback from Amazon.
Visit wnstd.com/manny
For more information on the author, visit
wnstd.com/exman
For more information on the illustrator,
visit wnstd.com/karina
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com