Where is this going?
The road we travel winds and twists through peaks and valleys...all of which we never know are coming until we get there.
Why is it the people in a scary movie never turn the lights on? We watch and yell to them, "Turn on the lights!" but they never do. If we don't know what's coming, we get wide-eyed, intensely waiting to see what will happen next. Our biological systems go on high-alert when we don't know. Our bodies are built to look for danger so we flip into protection mode, our pupils grow, our muscles tighten, our heart pounds all in an effort to divert an unknown bogeyman. As thrilling as that is in the movie theater, it is hell in real life. Uncertainty left to operate without a license usually leads us to a place of insecurity and discomfort. Yuck. Sounds like a recipe for contracting down into fear and stress rather than standing up into openness and power.
Discomfort is the crazy uncle that over stays his welcome and has us doing things we thought we would never do. Things like putting our thoughts on a Merry-go-round to see them go by every few minutes, using a Spock mind meld to get other people to behave the way we want them to, or writing lists and schedules on a white board as if that makes them concrete. All of our efforts are limited attempts at creating an illusion of jurisdiction. This sounds bad but it isn't. We are simply trying our best to meet our needs, to gain a sense of control over the circumstances in our lives. Nothing wrong with the idea, just the method. It is like a running on a treadmill and actually expecting to get somewhere.
The truth is we never really know what is going to happen next. We only know where we are right now. We nurture a sense of solid calm when we get out of our heads and look around at where we really are, right now. We would never think we could start our car by imagining we are sitting in the driver's seat turning the key. So why do we try to direct a future situation that is not here yet?
An alternative option is to shift the focus to what is happening within ourselves. We can turn the lights on in our own scary movie. We can meet and make friends with our emotions...noticing them, accepting them for what they are without fighting against them. The emotions become the vehicle we use to get to our unmet needs. Once we identify our emotions and needs, then we are actually in a position to take care of what we need, regardless of what happens around us.
An alternative option is to shift the focus to what is happening within ourselves. We can turn the lights on in our own scary movie. We can meet and make friends with our emotions...noticing them, accepting them for what they are without fighting against them. The emotions become the vehicle we use to get to our unmet needs. Once we identify our emotions and needs, then we are actually in a position to take care of what we need, regardless of what happens around us.
May this writing benefit you in some way.
Love and blessings.
Love and blessings.
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