The Way Things Are.
This is a subject dear to my heart. I bought the medallion above about 2 years ago and carry it with me precisely to remind me of this very idea: always be where I am, and that takes discerning and accepting 'the way things are'. Being mindful is a tough practice whether I am really busy involved with work, or just the opposite, sitting in space, just doing nothing. I have had quite a lot of practice having to accept where I am because I have felt the frustration of powerlessness many times in my life. Like the Serenity Prayer reminds us, it takes awareness and wisdom to understand what we can change and what must accept.
I have had to find this balance most strikingly over the past 5 years. My meddle has been tested to the max by the housing downturn, economy and general drying up of work in my profession, which has resulted in successive job loses and the long list of the other losses that go along with that. I have free fallen, hit the ground, and bounced around. I have given myself time to heal, and tried my best to move forward. Being a student at Full Sail is part of this moving forward, proceeding with the skills and experience I have and hoping to translate them in the new world of education.
The other side of that medallion says, “Take the Road Less Traveled”. This has been my mantra since I was a teenager believe it or not. That idea excited me and propelled me to do untraditional jobs that I have been fairly successful at. This mid-life crisis, thrust upon me by the real world of economics, has been the most difficult time in my life to find the acceptance of “where I am”, and the powerlessness of it has been the most devastating.
Until I found this medallion, I had forgotten how much this idea meant to me so long ago. I realized that "Taking the Road Less Traveled" still holds promise and excitement for me. It means living in possibility, once again. The flip side, “Be where you are”, has helped me connect the difficult times, the dark dots of my life, with those youthful bright dots of idealism, and feel that it was all worth it and still can be. It helps me accept and stay in the here and now. The medallion keeps me aware of the continuum of my life's possibilities, and helps me strengthen the threads connecting up living a whole life in possibility.
Just before I started this post, I was perusing the job openings in higher education that I might be qualified for with my past experience and my new EMDT credential, because, once again, I am unemployed. This afternoon I have an appointment with a career coach to help me re-frame my experience toward this new job market. So today, I will be acting upon and living in the possibilities of a new career, step by step on the road less traveled.
I love that you included a medallion that is important to you. When I think about ‘The Way Things Are,’ I think about accepting where you are in life. It becomes so easy to start thinking about how things should be especially when you are faced with trials in life. I loathe the powerless feeling I feel about my own life at times. Sometimes I begin to focus on the past or what I think the future will hold instead of the present. Maybe this is a defense to avoid focusing too much on the situation at hand. The challenges in life can tear us down and force us to rebuild ourselves in new ways. ‘Taking the Road Less Traveled’ is well worth the effort. That’s where all of the most interesting experiences in life reside. If everyone took the same road in life, we would not live in such a diverse world. I wish you luck finding a new career! It is an adventure but it is also exciting to think about all of the possibilities available. Completing this degree will open doors for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for replying Sheri.
ReplyDeleteThis program and collaborating with all of you has meant more than I can say.
I will miss this dearly.
What a great yin-yang: You are here/take the road less traveled. Amazing. Good luck in your coming adventures.
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