We have these dashboards in our lives. Filled with gauges, pretty lights, shiny buttons, contoured knobs - comfortable and comforting. Trouble is, they distract. They reassure. They are crutches.
Shiny, pretty, contoured and familiar, they let us pretend that our music, regulated temperature controls, fans and even retractable sun roof, cruise control and electronic windows - is an essential part of the journey. These all help to keep the wolf of uncertainty at bay. Designed to ensure we focus sufficiently on the larger purpose of our travels - getting safely there, and not be distressed by the incidentals. But our dashboards have become more than that. We engage with them and pretend that where we are going is incidental to how we feel while we are travelling. Thus, feeling comfortable is all-important and if one of the shiny things is not working properly, we can believe that the journey is a bad one.
We have these things called beliefs, amazingly like dashboards really. We check them regularly on our life journey; making sure we are comfortable, that nothing is upsetting us. For the older we get, the more uncertain life reveals itself to be. Disease, death (expected and premature), accident, painful memories, anxieties, feelings of loss - sometimes countered by success, stability and calm; but the larger picture is complex. Trouble is, we have things on our dashboards we don't really need. Some of our beliefs distract us.
See if any of these beliefs strike a note:
I am a great communicator. I have a personal example to match anything anyone else says.
(But I may not have valued what you have said)
If I just stay cheerful, I can manage all the big problems. Bad days are not allowed.
Life is manageable. All I need is a better spreadsheet and everyone's cooperation.
I need help. Life is too big and if you cannot help me, I don't have space for you.
It's all my fault - if I was better at X, everyone would be happier.
There is never enough time. I don't have the chance to clear up/finish up/sort out/get organised because life is just too full.
Everything will work itself out. No need to bother about anything. The universe (multiverse) will provide.
So.
A belief is a dashboard: providing reassurance, familiar points of reference, gauges to show how much fuel is left. A belief is not a destination. It is one path of many; not more, not less. Having a path is healthy - knowing there are other paths is healthier. Just for one day, choose a different dashboard.
