April 5th, 2017
Affirmation: I know that one step at a time I am making progress today. I am grateful for my growth even if it is not always obvious.
Word of the Day: chatoyant (adj):
Late by myself, in the boat of myself,
no light and no land anywhere,
cloudcover thick.
I try to stay just above the surface,
yet I am already under
and living within the ocean.
_____
Affirmation: I know that one step at a time I am making progress today. I am grateful for my growth even if it is not always obvious.
Word of the Day: chatoyant (adj):
1. changing in luster
or color: chatoyant silk.
2. Jewelry. Reflecting a single streak of
light when cut in a cabochon.
3. Jewelry. A cabochon-cut gemstone having
this reflected streak, as a chrysoberyl cat’s-eye.
Already Under
Late by myself, in the boat of myself,
no light and no land anywhere,
cloudcover thick.
I try to stay just above the surface,
yet I am already under
and living within the ocean.
_____
A Walk in the Woods
Imagine that I invited you for a walk in the woods. We enter the forest and begin walking at a point where there is a dirt path that is narrow, yet defined. Neither of us give the path much thought and we follow it while conversing. We soon become engrossed in our conversation and stop paying careful attention to exactly where we are going. We allow the path to guide our direction. It is as though our feet – and our bodies, by extension – are on autopilot and we don’t have to expend much thought or energy in deciding where we are headed. It’s not that we are unconscious; rather, our attentions and intentions are simply elsewhere and otherwise engaged and distracted.
Eventually, we come to a fork in the path. We pause only momentarily, and briefly and casually discuss which way we want to go. We decide to pick the path that looks somewhat more pleasant and are once again on our way, back on autopilot, until the next obvious choice (fork in the path) presents itself to us.
While walking with a friend in this way sounds quite nice, choosing to live our lives with this type of autopilot, path of least resistance setting is anything but nice. Too many of us are walking the paths that were purposely made by others or we might be following someone without realizing it. There is certainly nothing inherently wrong with walking the paths of people who have gone before us. However, the problem arises when we are walking these paths without having made the conscious decision to do so. The issue is the lack of a decision.
Perhaps you are currently on a path that a family member or friend started you on years ago. Or perhaps you chose this path specifically to rebel against your parents. Maybe you’re unsure of how you ended up on this path to begin with. Maybe you know too painfully well exactly how you ended up on this particular path, but you are unaware that you can change your mind about being here and choose another path if you so choose.
Either way, if you are currently on a path that no longer (or never did) makes sense for you and your personal values and goals, you can choose to follow a different path. You can choose to change direction and you can even choose to create your own path.
You might have missed an “exit” that you had intended to take, but staying on the current trajectory if it isn’t talking you where you want to go, isn’t going to get you there any faster – or at all.
- Describe the path you are currently walking. What other paths have you walked in the past? Do you plan to change paths in the future? Do you feel able, willing, and/or free to venture off the path you are currently on? Why or why not?
- What is the relationship between the path you are currently walking and those things that are most important and meaningful to you?
You state 'The issue is the lack of a decision.' I believe that the issue is the lack of a conscious choice. There is a decision, even if it is the sub-par default decision of following another's lead blindly without question. Many people believe that doing nothing in a given situation implies no decision. Actually it is a decision to do nothing vs. doing any of the other alternatives at that particular juncture or fork in the road. The thin slice theory in the previous post relates to the ability to make quick decisions with little data vs extreme analysis leading to paralysis - the group that uses thin slices to make decisions on available data usually have better outcomes in my experience and fewer regrets because they have made conscious deliberate choices, right or wrong, in each case. Having said that, there are some occasions where it is better to wait and watch when that course of action too is arrived at as a thoughtful choice.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the consciousness of a decision.
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