Mountains of Arizona
Cloudy 70 Degrees
6:30 a.m.
I imagine there are people out there who would rather that this not be said.
But being that I’m happy to say things others won’t, I’ll spend a few minutes bringing attention to a simple idea that holds a lot of people back.
I’ll just come right out and say it, since we’ve all got things to do today:
No one has a clue what they are doing.
Even people you THINK know what they are doing don’t know what they are doing.
They know what they’ve done. They know that some of it worked and some didn’t.
But as for what’s next, who knows? We have a story about what could work, what should work, what might work, but as for facts? Nada.
Everyone is making it up as they go.
Highlighting this is not an effort to diminish those folks who are clueless but whose consistent action is perceived as clarity by others. Those folks are doing a great job! Instead, my goal is to offer some insight to everyone else.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, join the club, jump in the water, you can’t get hurt. Congrats! You’re like almost every other person on the planet.
If we knew what we were doing at all times, I imagine life would take on a rather unexciting lack of vibrancy.
I don’t know, I’ve never experienced it!
We want to know what we’re doing because it makes us feel safer.
But nothing is safe.
Nothing is for sure.
Your plan for getting to the next level? Not safe.
Your close relationships, not safe.
Your 401(k) or other investments, not safe. (That’s hilarious.)
Your plans for retirement, not safe.
Your college fund for your kids? It’s a bunch of electrons suspended by belief that they exist. Hardly “safe.”
Even the story you tell yourself about who you are and what you THINK is true in this world… not safe. One simple idea could shatter that whole construction in a blink.
In summary, our entire life situation is as precarious as hell.
But we like to tell ourselves otherwise.
So what’s a person to do?
When you can develop the ability to be OK with all of this insecurity, lack of safety, total uncertainty, then you can get about getting something real done.
You don’t have to fix it. You don’t have to run away from it. You just OWN it, you appreciate it for what it is and you figure out how to maintain your centered self WITHIN it.
After all, these are all THOUGHTS we have been trained to connect with stories and emotional responses. We’ve been TRAINED this way.
What do you do then?
You do the work required to hear that voice inside you that’s really you.
Listen to what it says.
Go where it leads you.
Move forward with gratitude knowing you are finally following the only human being qualified to lead you through life.