It's
amazing to me that no matter how much I think I've done
in life that there is always more to experience
(and learn). And, I have also learned that life stagnates because I
allow it to.
Even
though we have brilliant resources inside each of us, we also may
have habitual tendencies of the mind that play like endless tape
loops, tendencies that cause us suffering of one kind or another. It
can be a "snap" to get caught up in this play field, and begin a
downward spiral into the vortex of latency, fear, and self pity. And
each time it is allowed to happen, the climb out can be treacherous
and exhausting.
So,
why do this to ourselves? What is going on? The answer I
discovered for myself may surprise you. "I was always waiting for
the other shoe to drop". And what I have since discovered (and the
reality) is; "There is no such thing as the other shoe unless I
choose to participate and
thus create it".
We
sometimes become so accustomed to allowing our environment to "rain
down" on us that every time we try to move forward we stop and wait
for the "other shoe to drop". This is not an uncommon feeling as
many people remain so set in their situations that they fear what
might occur if they move on with their lives.
Many
of us have made that choice on a myriad of occasions inadvertently
creating that "other shoe". Think back to different experiences in
your life where you were saddled with fear. Most of the time, we
eventually got what it was that we desired, but there was such a
struggle. The root of the "other shoe" belief is our belief that in
order to get what we need, we have to struggle for it.
Many
of us have a learned expectation to make things worse than they may
need to be. We do this by focusing our attention, and the momentum
it will build, upon what could go wrong. And the interesting thing
is that the key to creating new solutions is completely dependent on
where we decide to direct and focus our attention.
It's not how "challenge free" a life can
be, but how those challenges are managed that makes a life
fulfilling. In other words it is about tuning into our
current visual expectations and no longer allow what's been our
reality to render us powerless.
We
all have habits of thought. These include things like: what we
believe, what we've experienced and have come to believe as the only
reality and the only way that things can happen.
You
already know that the performance of athletes improves dramatically
with the power of visualization. It's not rocket-science. You
eventually become your what you focus on.
-
If you continue to smoke a
lot you become a smoker.
-
If you continue to drink a
lot you become a drinker.
-
If you only watch TV all the
time you'll be a TV "drone".
And...if
you do something constructive, positive, and tangible in your life
on a consistent basis you
will be...
Happy, successful (in your own unique way), and
create a life you enjoy living!
"What
if Beethoven had never played again after he encountered his first
piano?" and "What if I had never decided to move to Philadelphia
after college, and instead moved back to my hometown because this is
what felt comfortable.
It isn't however just the big things that we need to encounter and
experiment with but the little details are equally important; things
like finding the "perfect" pair of sandals or how many hours of
sleep is just right for us.
How
easily we can assume that we are just a particular way or that we
are sentenced to live a certain way forgetting that we can shuffle
the deck, juggle the balls, or switch horses mid-course. How often
do we give up on ourselves (or another human being) assuming we have
tried "everything" when the next combination or new possibility is
just waiting for us to notice it?
Our
"habits" can ensnare us in a straitjacket of comfort, reassuring us
that we know what we like, and/or we know who we are. It isn't that
we just need to "stay open" or "try new things". It is much more
critical than that. We have an
instinctive desire to keep discovering until the day we die all the
possible ways to do and to be.
So,
instead of waiting or worrying that there will be nothing at the
"end of the rainbow", start making plans for your next dream so that
you can achieve the life you desire. Don't just hang around in hopes
that something better will come along, go out and find that
something better, and take it!
Life is an enormous pu-pu platter, a
giant offering of possibilities, and it is up to us to keep
sampling the delicious tidbits until we find the ones that make us
dance on the table with satisfaction and
exultation. | 
Mary Kay
Buttery