Wedding cake-in-the-middle-of- the road

Money…illness….grief… decisions… addictions… life is just full of obstacles that makes you stop in your tracks… stare immobilised at the wedding cake in the middle of the road… with no inkling as to how to handle it. The only guarantee being that the next step will profoundly change the status of things.

So I’m not really referring to those challenges – like “I will not eat chocolate this week” – its more about obstacles that we have no control over. Challenges are often easier to overcome and well within our reach. Obstacles on the other hand present something a little beyond the usual challenge… that unexpected thing we just didn’t foresee.

I think even obstacles have their little purpose in the bigger scheme of things. They force us to go beyond boundaries we never knew we had (the boundary that is). Consider for a moment being diagnosed with some weird virus that’ll have you down for 3 months. This diagnosis will undoubtedly force you to change many aspects of your daily diet and give greater consideration to your general health. In this instance, the obstacle forced you to take greater care in your health.

An obstacle may be a sign to quit too I think. And I don’t mean quit altogether ...We quit that only avenue thought to bring success. We quit the way we’ve been going about things and try another route. That same little avenue for some reason or the other is not … and has not been working so well. Thus, the obstacle for a bit of a wakeup call.

So being faced with the wedding cake in the middle of the road could just be the best thing that happens to you in a long time.

(Pic: http://stanleybronstein.com/blog/roadblock.jpg )

It is a poor idea to lie to yourself

Its easy to procrastinate, give-up when things get tough, be rude when someone else is, make excuses and dump blame… little white lies here and there… or the big ones that we’d rather not be reminded of.

Question: Why do we lie to ourselves?

I think we lie to merely find the easy way out of a pickle. By choosing the easy way we find that quick solution… or that temporary patch. It may help for now… still the waters, but down the line is another story altogether. With every lie you convince yourself of - you not only become that lie’s slave but also freely give away your strength. Why?

Because it takes strength to do what you know you should do… to follow through the obstacles and challenges of our paths. It takes commitment and persistence to work on those difficult problems particularly. “I can’t” and “I couldn’t ever” are just some of the most common lies we love telling ourselves. Yet every time we succumb to some lie we give away our strength and instead opt for the easy way out. But really now- how fruitful can all this possibly be?

There are no true easy or free rides in my opinion. Great accomplishments require great effort and strength. And this strength is built every single time you do what know you must do…. whether you feel like it, want to… or not. It takes far more strength to be persistent than to simply dismiss or ignore something.

… moral of da story… It’s a poor idea to lie yourself for whatever reason. You’re only slowing down the realisation of your dreams.

(Pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsey_martin_photos/3493046867/

The sound of one hand clapping

... is the sound of nothingness... silence…. space… the sound of man perceiving his solitude…and I said solitude… not loneliness… there’s a difference.

Often busy schedules, demanding deadlines, a host of responsibilities is what seem to be ruling and running your life… as if the schedule is in control. We feel like we’ll never catch up, and may even make a mountain out of the mole hill when pressured. I think with the world changing at a pace that is almost impossible to keep up with- it’s important to find some balance and take charge of the schedule…. Not the schedule taking charge of you like the puppet on strings.

For some ... that balance is found within solitude. By cultivating some solitude… we figure out our why’s, what’s and where’s, ultimately finding some direction for actions (however small). And determined actions result in you being in charge of the schedule... and not be the puppet!

The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of man exploring and finding awareness -and himself- in an ever changing world.

(Pic: http://ahmedfernando.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/hand_on_water.jpg)

Not all who wander are lost…

Ever considered abandoning your 9 to 5 slave life for one filled with adventure and excitement? Hell, I certainly have…. and may just secretly aspire to, what may seem as, getting lost.

Bout some 2 years ago… I met a real-life, modern-day nomad. Found myself absolutely fascinated with him and his lifestyle of nowhereness seeming more like somewhereness than nothingness. Chad was from America originally and in his late teens decided to take off … let’s just say to find himself. It appeared though that Chad found the world instead. No 9 to 5… no assets that needed administering … no cars to be serviced… no deadlines … no stress about tomorrows… just life and a journey of never-ending exploration. Damn I could live like that!

Chad travelled from country to country, with no particular mission in mind, but just to explore the different faces and places he came across. Living on almost nothing- he carried with him a few items of clothing and well that was pretty much it… no phone…no laptop …no special travelling gear… no Facebook even at the time…just himself with the world to get lost in. To fund his continuous travels he’d do some contract work …. wherever and whatever… and use that money for flights, accommodation and food… all he ever needed to survive. Prior to coming to SA, he at some point packed fish in Alaska for about 6 months before continuing his travels. “I cannot complain of hassles along my journeys and you’d be surprised how helpful people can be” he mentioned. Upon my enquiry about where to next of course… he replied “not sure yet…. thinking India or Afghanistan”. Since we managed to convince him to at least open a Facebook account …. it turned out to be India first and Afghanistan some time later.

To me it seemed Chad exuded this amazing sense of peace to match his simplistic, yet ever rich, lifestyle. This I like….. no… I love! I highly commend people like Chad bold enough to trade comfort and security for a life of adventure and exploration.

Why is it that we consume stuff…. we hoard stuff… work to attain all sorts of career goals and yet people are still unhappy. Even with all the stuff in the world that you or the Joneses could possibly attain- will this guarantee happiness…peace?

I often think a measure of one’s success is not the race to attain and consume but the amount of people whose lives we manage to touch in some way or another. That could be through work or just about anything you do as they mostly involve dealing with people. And if this is the philosophy of nomads like Chad, think we cannot judge or assume that seeming wanderers are lost.

Maybe its more about what being found might mean to you?

(Picture by me:-)