THANK YOU THURSDAY—Thanks for Staying connected
I need to look it up...but not today. For now my incomplete memory is close enough. It was Groucho who said something like—“I’m not sure I want to be part of any group that would have me as a member.” I remember seeing a t-shirt in the early 70s that said “I want to be different just like everybody else.
In “western” culture we. Most certainly find ourselves drowning in just that dilemma. Our self-help media encourage us to be individuals and yet provide techniques that for all intents and purposes train us to fall in a “normal” range of thought and behaviors. This range is established by making comparisons and you are. And I am urged to change so that I fit the norm most of the time.
Sure some self-helpers encourage you to be you to the extreme... however they often start by inferring you have some deficit that is unacceptable or should be and that deficit of course, must be corrected. In short you need help because. The secret moral majority says so —don’t you agree (insert rolling eyes). So we have some encouragement to be extraordinarily good at a range of things that most people value on the one hand.
...And on the other hand...
Massa media and capitalism encourage us to meet some standards and we are sold things so that we have all the symbols that say we belong to this or that group. If you want the best and to be seen as being the Best Buy a Rolex, drive a BMW, and never shop at Walmart.
What does all this mean for.seeking peace and joy? My thoughts conjure up a tight rope requiring a balance between the very human feelings of wanting to belong and conversely wanting to be able to express your unique gifts. The odd thing is... while this is. Not very easy, most people do not acknowledge that each of us is walking that tight rope a lot of the time. For me personally I have tried on several occasions in life to test how far I can stretch the rubber bands of belonging and still experiment with changing. Myself to de3velop skills or explore different ways of thinking.
My current attitude suggests that my patterns of doing this aren’t likely to change anytime soon so that makes it important for me to say thanks to the “group” and individuals who have allowed me to stay connected with them as I experience life. It would be simple for some of you to break the. Ties because I don’t really fit in with “your other friends” or because you don’t really need connections at all. Yet, so many of you have decided to walk with me for a while even though I am always choosing the tight rope between buildings instead of going down to the second floor and. Using the skywalk.
To seek peace and joy....
I’m going to finish this post up with a poem/rhyme, however, I want to say I respect the challenge we all face in wanting the power of the group and the glory of individual growth. It is likely to be.with most of us most of our lives. My promise is to.be tolerant in most instances and to understand that every journey follows a growing map with lots of detours. In short, thanks for being rest stops, refueling stations, churches, bars, and schools wrapped up in humanity on my trek.
A Network Of Angels
I am walking alone and I don’t feel so strong
Do I need to fly. Solo or need to belong?
If I fly with the others can I really fly free
To become the true self I am. Meant to be?
Yet what if my purpose is to feel the smile and the scar
For being a bridge for those who seek their own distant star
For I can spot saints in both steeple and bar
And pass on my lessons as. You become who you are
There is a truth that I must face
I’m at the right time and in the right place
So this is the role I’m meant to embrace
As my network or Angels provide me needed. Grace
To All who assist me hear clear as I mumble
”Thanks for lending a hand as I soar then I stumble
And making me whole again whenever. I crumbleTogether we’re brilliant alone I am humble”
Thanks for filling my cup...please let me know if you are ever thirsty...
Peace and Joy
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