The Fallacies of Our Times: Three Steps To The Perfect Life
Take this class; do this, and your life will be Instagram perfect. No reflection needed. No messy emotions. No visiting an imperfect past.
When we sense that something, some indefinable something, is missing in our life is we go on a quest for answers. Maybe it’s a new job? A new house? A different wardrobe? Surely there are three steps to make everything right!
Notice that all these “solutions” are outside of yourself?
I have a painting that I bought more than twenty years ago in New Mexico. I was on a cross country trip with my sailplane, Whiskey Oscar. (“WO” ,Whiskey Oscar, were her contest letters-more about this in my upcoming book). I’d left her safely in a hangar in California. I knew that if I left my beloved plane on the west coast, it would force me to move. But that’s another story.
The story here is the painting from New Mexico. It shows the naked back of a woman, perched on the edge of a stage, looking out into a blurry audience. She has one arm across her chest, as if to hide herself or to hold something back. And on her back the shadows play into the form of a horse. Is this her desire to escape? Is the crowd in front of her the past, the present or the future. What will she decide to share or not and why? Will she stay or flee?
This painting so represents where I was in my life at that time. Suddenly single, out on that stage, trying to figure out which way to go. I was burned by my past, unsure how much to show to the world. Once wounded, I didn’t want to travel that path again. Perhaps I could just turn and run? But where would I go?
It would take some years and a great deal of introspection for me to realize that all the answers I sought were within. But, at the time, I wasn’t ready for that wisdom. I wanted a quicker fix. Give me three steps to the perfect life!
While a simple fix sounds great, it’s not real. Living an authentic life, while simple, is a bit more complicated. It requires that you actually pause, be present and be willing to look within. It means you have to be willing question your beliefs and let go of what no longer suits you.
The journey within is the deepest, best journey you’ll ever embark upon. It’s far more expansive than the most expensive vacation. It’s a journey without limits. And it’s a journey that will give you the answers you seek.
Which path will you choose?
Coming Soon! Bump In The Road: Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience. Sign up to get advance notice of the publication!
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