Standing alone is something we often think we do but is actually quite rare since who we are is the sum total of all that we have experienced and learned which means all of the people we have encountered have become a part of us. They stand behind us and support us or in some cases, tear us down when we have identified with the teachings of those who limit us.
Support comes in many forms however and is not only the pat on the back and words of encouragement that fill us with the power to continue. Sometimes, it is the harshness and slap on the face we require to wake us from whatever fantasy world we have chosen to delude ourselves in and pay attention to the reality of the situations that actually affect us. Often it is not a person that shakes us to consciousness but an experience that rips us apart and leaves us broken on the floor.
People fear these events, the ones that fundamentally shift the status quo and change every experience that is to come after as most prefer the better the devil you know approach even though what they know is nowhere near what they want. People would much rather suffer the slings and arrows of familiar than shoot for something uncertain in case what arrives comes with even more suffering. But, to experience different requires movement and for large differences, revolutions may be required.
I was talking with a friend last night about the state of the world and she asked What if it is too late to change course? As I see it, only in death is it too late and there is only one course to change to make life valuable, and that is the one of the individual. There are many ways to do this yet, waiting for the wind to steer the ship is likely not going to take anyone where they may want to be, nor is relying on others to take the wheel.
We are limited in our capacity as to what we can affect in this world and even though we may work to have more influence over it, the first and foremost step is to learn to captain ourselves through whatever weather may come. This is not a solo journey even though it may feel lonely at times, it is the compounding of countless lives of the past that have nudged us to be a little better than we were a moment before. But, when it comes to taking the steps forward or back, left or right, only one person can make the move.
Taraz
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