Three Myths
Stories are powerful.
They’re great teachers, each one carrying one or more messages about the world we live in. While the narratives are usually memorable, the punch lines can be less obvious, and I haven’t always questioned or valued them as much as I should.
Many, I learned at my mother’s knee as she prepared me for life. Others originated from my teachers and friends as they helped me to construct my perspectives – the lenses through which I interpret reality today. I’ve always tried to be a good student, mindful of the many and varied benefits on offer. I haven’t always been a discerning student, carefully sifting through the various conclusions and reflecting on their impact and contributions to my integrity.
Like most people, I’ve grown with the idea that I’m an individual, separate and distinct from others, in a better place than some, not as accomplished as some others. My focus usually has been on how I differ from others rather than on what I have in common with them. I’ve constructed innumerable boundaries to secure my personal interests; I’ve not built as many bridges as I might have. Overtime, I’ve become Polarized.
From my earliest days at school, I’ve been impressed too, with the distinctive value of getting the right answers. First, determining what was expected, and then progressing to unexpected yet sustainable answers of my own, has always been a mark of distinction. I‘ve loved it! I’ve held on to my successes, often going to extraordinary lengths to preserve them even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Rectitude has been compelling.
Above all, I’ve learned to accommodate that dependable yet demanding master we know as Time. It seems that as long as I have been obedient to time’s demands, I’ve been successful in everyone’s eyes, having time when all others are still seeking it. It’s only now, after all these years, that I realize that my concept of time is merely subjective and linear time is just an illusion that I’ve allowed to dictate to my life.
So many of my initiatives and responses have been shaped by these three factors, the Myths of my life – separateness or Polarity, right-ness or Rectitude and progressive or Linear time – that I’ve sacrificed control over my own reality. Given this, what reasonable hope could I have of getting more out of life, of becoming a better version of myself, thereby fulfilling the purpose my life anticipates that I could and should be?
I’ve comfortably adopted this distorted reality for many years. I don’t expect to surrender it, but I now know that I need to bring it into a more constructive focus. Since each one of the three Myths and their collective impact, is so great, having so much influence on my well-being and welfare not to mention my prospects, I could profit from some reflection.
What are your thoughts? Let’s share some ideas and dialogue.
