10 Jul How are You Going Through Life?
As I write this post, I am sitting on my deck having a drink of bourbon on the rocks and listening to a recording on changing limiting beliefs.
I look up and see three kinds of nautical boats in my cove. There are two kayakers slowly paddling down the cove. Another is a jet ski stopping to chat with the kayakers. The third is an anchored indoor motor boat just settling in for the evening.
In a way, as we all journey through life, we are doing so on one sort of vehicle or another. Some of us are slow paddlers, taking time to stop, look and explore as we move along. Others of us are speeders, revving up our engines and zooming from one thing to another. And there may be another group who is in for a longer journey and who need a vision and a destination to navigate towards.
By default, I am wired to dart quickly from one activity to another or get pulled into competing relationships.
In all depends on what is attracting me at the moment.
By conscious design though, I find that I like the slower, meandering pace of the kayaker who takes some time to appreciate and savor what creek or lagoon they navigate to. I also like the long-term style of someone who is working toward a distant vision and learning the tools along the way that are useful in managing a long-term project.
How about you? Are you a slow paddler drifting along with no particular place to go? Or are you the speedy Road Runner hurrying along some path only to find yourself flying off some cliff and wondering how it will feel when you crash land?
Or are you the long distance traveler who has set his sights on a distant goal, slowly working your way one step at a time?
The older I get the more I am attracted to the long distance traveler and less to the energizer bunny character.
I like setting my sights on a lofty pursuit and learning how to do it along the way. It may be hard to believe that for someone who had to take remedial English as a college freshman, I now imagine writing a best seller or an award winning film script.
I have so much to learn along the way. How to think big picture and create a perspective? How to work out each chapter or scene so that it is well thought out rather than haphazardly constructed? How to develop the characters so as to maintain reader interest? How to write something that is interesting to others as well as myself?
I am definitely pulled by my Speedy Gonzalez, Road Runner and Energizer Bunny instincts. They whisper in my ear to let the big picture go and run amuck! I feel the tug of war between my different parts and wonder who is going to prevail in the struggle for control over my life. It really is such an interesting inner battle to observe.
I particularly like being the observer who notices and appreciates the competition. It feels as though this Wise Self thoroughly enjoys the show and appreciates each character as it emerges and competes for my attention.
I wonder what kind of ship or vehicle this Wise Observer might ride as my Kayaker, Jet Skier and Yachter move in and out of my consciousness. They are all valued, useful and interesting; but they are also annoying, distracting and selfish. They are all staying around and not going away. Maybe I will need a bigger boat!
How about you? How is your life journey looking?