Life is not linear. It is organic. And yet most of us move forward on a fixed path.
Fear is paralyzing. It keeps us in our comfort zones. It causes us to create these lists and plans, giving us a sense of security because we think have an idea of what’s coming, what will happen in the future.
When something comes along that causes us to leave our predetermined path, it’s easy to ignore it or look the other way. It’s more comfortable to keep going straight ahead because it feels predictable.
Now, I can’t imagine going back to that mindset. And it took swallowing my fear and leaning in to the darkness to break free of it.
I was in a committed relationship that had started out strong. We had a clear trajectory, followed the prescribed steps. We had a beautiful home together, cooked together, traveled together, found a rhythm as a live-in couple. So, when doubts and unhappiness started creeping in I brushed them aside. I pushed them down to depths I didn’t even know I had. After all, on the surface there was nothing obviously wrong. I was comfortable and safe, albeit unfulfilled.
Eventually, I found the courage to make the decision I knew I had to, and I have never felt freer.
After breaking through that fear, I now understand what it means to be open to life. And just like that, my world went from black and white to full blown color.
For so long, I had this paranoid feeling that the universe was out to get me. Can you imagine how stressful that is when you think the entire UNIVERSE is out to get you? I couldn’t freely enjoy anything. Everything was laced with trepidation, poisoning the sweet into bitingly bitter.
Now I know, in my heart of hearts, that life is going to take me where I need to go…and I will be OK. As long as I keep my head firmly on my shoulders, as long as I remember that I am capable, bountiful, beautiful and blissful, my feet will lead me to the right places, people and experiences. I leaped without a parachute, only to feel my wings unfurl from my essence and lift me to heights I never knew I could reach.
So, why bar myself from the magic and mystery of life by falling into an inflexible mindset?
Is that not even more true in these turbulent times? Our current situation is an unknown, we don’t know what will happen in the next hour, let alone the next few days. The long-term consequences of what we are now living through are beyond our limited understanding of the current situation. The panic and fear we are experiencing seems to be in large part because of the unknown. We thought we understood the world, then it threw this curveball at us and caught us with our pants down. We became comfortable and secure, wrongly believing that we had things figured out, or willfully ignoring that which we didn’t understand.
When we put on our blinders and focus solely on one specific target straight ahead of us, we miss the unlimited realms of possibility, and yes, challenge, that exist all around. While there’s credit to being determined, can we not find a way to advance forward while being open to the mystery?
Rooted & Free to Fly.
Grounded & Untamed.
Oriented & Open.
Knowledgeable & Innovative.
How do we turn the current state of affairs into a chance to become better, to grow wiser? What we need now is a collective, internal revolution. A move needs to be made away from black and white extremism to the flexibility of the vibrant colors that lay in between.
