A Blanket of Compromise

It strikes me as odd that we find so much comfort from that old friend (?) compromise. It is a strange friend that wraps a blanket of false dreams and hopes around our personal universe… heaven help us if the blanket slips or we dare take a peek above it, what will we see? Well let me tell you as someone who knows – a world of multi-dimensional explosive colour that rocks the very foundation of everything we think we believe in.

AUTHORS WARNING – if you are wondering ‘what is that madman talking about?’ then stop reading now because you have not yet glimpsed beyond the blanket and doing so may seriously change your day…
If you are still with me then I suspect you have already stepped forward, and if like me you are well down this path then this next bit is really quite amusing. However if you are new to this, it may seem somewhat harsh – but trust me, it will make you smile in the end.

How weird to wake each day and watch the layers of compromise peel away, only to spend even more energy compromising the compromise in the vain attempt of staying firmly in the middle of the same path. What is even more unsettling is the world we now glimpse is one we always knew about, and lost somewhere around puberty when we were trying to be what we thought everyone else wanted us to be!
So it goes like this – I set out on a journey along time ago with the objective of reaching the peak of a beautiful mountain – I cleared the foothills and have worked my way through the lower slopes, some challenging, many beautiful and rewarding. On this climb I meet wonderful people and experience many joyous events. Then one fine day I make it through the tree line and can see clear air for the first time since the plains of my youth. Why then, am I feeling a creeping sense of unease, rather than elation? Out of the corner of my eye I can see another peak, one that calls out with clarity of my youth. Slow realization dawns that I may have taken a wrong turn and need to be in a different place!
So what do I do now you may ask? While I refrain from this turning into a counseling session, I can assure you that drinking copious amounts of beer, crying, screaming, working even harder, or taking up jogging, all work exceptionally well at blocking the view of that marvelous peak in the corner of our eye, however as we continue to climb, the view becomes clearer and increasingly more difficult to ignore. DO NOT PANIC! Everything we have done, everywhere we have been, all our experiences, all the people we have ever met, are the reason we are here, and why we are who we are. Nothing has been wasted – no regrets – our journey continues on regardless as we climb new heights. The perceived change in destination does not negate the past, or what we have experienced, the contrary is true, it allows us to view our path with reflective wisdom. There is only one rule to remember (important – I will test you later!) – this is our personal journey, we are doing it for ourselves and not for anyone else. Ok, ok, settle down, I have heard it all before – ‘its not that easy’, ‘that’s selfish’, ‘what about my ______ (insert appropriate name of kin, dog or fish)?’. Remember the rule – my journey. This being our personal journey does not negate interaction with others – imagine how happy our loved ones will be when they truly grasp how joyful we are?
Lets assume we’ve stopped fighting it (it being the courage to follow our heart), and we have decided that compromise is not allowed to play any more, what now? FREE TIP (generous to a fault) – shine a light on your world and look very carefully at what you see, then take a piece of paper and make a list of all the things that really make you smile. Right, STOP NOW! Start again please, and this time be really really honest – this is YOUR list – ok better.
Scary eh? Some really amazing things on that list I bet, totally priceless actually. More surprising are the things we leave off! Now we have a real ‘makes me smile list’, and not quite so difficult to move forward when we trash the retrospective silver linings we trace along those missing items.

I love my list, no honest, I really really love my list, and am compelled to grin, Cheshire-cat style, most of the time! Let me explain – my list is small and not very complicated – by spending more time with the items on my list and less with the ‘false prophets of happiness’ acquired from other peoples lists, I have smiled more outrageously, more frequently and longer than for many a year.
So this is fab – my whole world is going to be one great big smile and a never-ending bag of Twiglets right? Sorry, no. This is going to be BIG, and involve BIG change, even those connected to us will experience the change even if they don’t want to. ‘HELP’ I hear you cry, ‘what can I do?’ This may sound a little twee, but it is the best advice I can offer…
~ for the adults around you, try and explain – I know its difficult, it’s like trying to explain colour to someone who only sees in black & white – but keep trying with compassion and love at all times, however hard that may be
~ for children, realise that we spend so much time telling them to grow up and be more responsible, and yet the times we need to talk to them about ‘grown up’ stuff we end up treating them like kids! Trust me on this one – they get it – love, compassion and honesty will win the day and result in a lot of fun, laughter and love.
Well that concludes my chat and I wish you well in this part of your journey, whatever stage you are at. My next installment will cover the more complex subjects of gardening on a small balcony and de-cluttering from a lifetime of collecting ’stuff’.

The Barefoot Gardener

Ed: This is a personal account of experiencing heightened awareness and transformation as a result of journeying through The Shift, a time of global energy gear-changes that are impacting on human relationships at every level.

Link: Life Quake