There are moments in life when the vignette fades away and all that was living in the peripheral comes into focus. Masks fall off, veils uncovered. And what remains is a rough, rugged, honest truth. It’s in that process of crystallization that we find our way forward.
I often like to think that I am not alone. That in darkness, there is someone there to shine a light and in the brightness of joy, there is someone basking by my side. But in the big emotions, it’s easy to feel a loneliness. A solitude that is heavy, that isolates. And in this loneliness it is hard to see what exists on the sidelines. Our focus becomes razor sharp but only on what is in front of us….and that thing in front of us is rarely the whole story. Rather, it’s the narrative our brain tells us to follow and, for better or for worse, this usually works. With blinders on to block out the peripheral, life is usually simpler. We can continue on about our days without the distraction of having to process more. Like this, the outcome seems easier to control. More information requires more dissimulation, requires more work. Our busy lives don’t leave much room for more work. At least not of the self improvement variety.
But here’s the thing about the peripheral: that’s where the truth lives.
And, for better or worse, we need to know what’s going on, without the blinders on, in order to live fully. Because, true happiness lives on the other side of clarity. When we understand things as they are and not as we wish them to be, we’re finally free to feel a joy without restrictions. We can be confident that what we think to be true, is actually true. That the feelings we feel and the thoughts we have have roots, they have a belonging and a purpose. You know that little tugging thing you get when something maybe isn’t quite right? Yeah, intuition. It’s trying to help you unveil the peripheral.
So how do we get there? We shift.
Shift It Sunday Challenge: see it from a different angle.
This week, dig in to something that’s nagging at you. No need to get all Dexter if you’re not ready (slicing and dicing is a lot of work!) but try to peel back a layer and look at the situation from a different perspective. Is there something you’re not seeing? Another truth hiding there waiting to be understood? It’s a little step with potential for big growth.
Remember, with clarity we get pure, unfiltered, feel good joy.