We Shall Overcome

"We Shall Overcome!
We Shall Overcome!
We Shall Overcome One Day
Oh Oh Oh, Deep in my heart......
I Still Believe.
We Shall Overcome One Day."

 

Everything we face in life....every seemingly bad situation, obstacle, delay, or unhappiness, has in it the seeds of opportunity that lead to the opposite conditions.  What I mean to say, is that there is always CHOICE.

How we respond to situations that cross our path, says a lot about who we are.  Our trained responses (reactions) kick in.  If we are wise, we make choices in our lives that allow us to CAUSE the circumstances and conditions that we live in.  But occassionally, we become embroiled in situations that are tricky and involve navigating a seeming mindfield of difficulties.

I don't know about anyone else out there in particular but I find it really hard to make decisions most of the time.  For me, the world is a lovely buffet of options and I like to sample the flavors.  When it comes to choosing Friends, Lovers, Life Partners, Bosses (yes, we actually choose bosses!), or co-workers (yup...them too!), it can be some of the harder choices out there.  These relationships are primal and essential.  Without relationships...without PEOPLE...what are we?  Who are we without the people of our lives?  Who are we WITH them?  How do we "weed out" those dangerous influences without hurting feelings?  Does it matter if we hurt feelings?  What if we remove the wrong ones and replace them with worse choices?  How can we know if what we are doing is right?

I wonder if anyone else out there is struggling with these questions like I am!  I could really use some truth right now.  I could really use the brightest flashlight ever known to man in order to illuminate the dark places and see what is really there.  You know a tree by it's fruit, right?  That is always true, isn't it?  I wonder...

You see, in my life right now there can only be one truth and there can only be one right path.  A person cannot possibly walk two paths at once in order to see which one they like best.  I know this because I HAVE TRIED!  Yup. I really have!  I have tried to keep one foot in one path and the other in the other path.  What happens when you do this, is that all you can do is stand there.  Without the CAUSE...the Momentum..the movement...that will be achieved only when both legs work together toward the same goal...you just stand there.  Your legs grow tired and weary and there is no progress.  The scenary never changes.  Things pass by you on their way through life and you just stand there...alone and sad....and secretly suffering.  And who even notices?  Who even KNOWS you at all?  This has been my life for more years then I care to admit.  Some of my friends will read this blog and they will understand why I say it.  They will know that they have seen me stuck and have seen that little has been achieved in my life that I could call a Legacy of Value.  But I want a Legacy of Value. It MATTERS to me that I achieve things in life. 

Some of the greatest Miracles that exist in my life right now, are gathering moss on the underbelly of stagnant ships that sit in the bay of my life.  They just sit there looking mighty and regal in the harbor...faithfully sitting and waiting.  But if you throw on a scuba tank and get underneath, there are some beautiful things there.  Strange analogy, I am sure.  But it feels right to me and that is what matters.  My choices FEEL RIGHT to me...and THAT is what matters.  The amazingly wise poet, Robert Frost, is often quoted in his poem about the two paths that diverge in the woods.  In the poem, he takes the one "less travelled" (by virtue of the fact that the path can barely be seen because it is so overgrown).  He says that this path, rather than the most-trodden, made all the difference for him in his life.  I like to ask myself, "what kind of adventures awaited him?".  He never really elaborates.  But the spark of curiosity and hope exists in the power of those words:

I chose the path less travelled...and it made all the difference.

Since there is no one to ask but me, why I should do any thing I choose to do...I will adopt the curiosity of Robert Frost.  I will engage the wanderer in me.  I will embrace the pioneer of truth who wants new experiences and wants her ship to have it's maiden voyage.  I will cast my shackles for good and remove the hurt...the layers of hurt.  I will shed the doubt and mistrust and worry because these habits do me no service except to hinder me further.  If I walk this path instead of that path...the beauty of it will be that I will still always have the one thing I need the most.  MYSELF.

God Bless and Namaste

Lilac