On a bed in the middle of an emergency room, a small boy sits. Around him is total chaos: people yelling, nurses running around, trauma to the left and to the right. Everyone is moving with urgency while the boy sits motionless and watches it all unfold. A nurse notices and assumes he must be terrified. “Don’t be afraid,” she reassures him. The boy looks at her calmly and replies, “Oh I’m not afraid.”
If we’re not participating in the chaos — if we’re not being wrapped up and swept away by the current along with everyone else — that doesn’t mean we’re inadequate, missing out, or living in fear. But in the busyness of life, that’s easy to forget. It’s easy to unconsciously allow our lives to be written by the currents. It’s easy to assume that if everyone is riding them, they must lead us in the right direction.
Those assumptions allow the currents to affect our energy levels and our work schedules, our eating habits and our career tactics. They influence our skills, the possessions we own, and the actions we condone. They cause us to assume that life is chaotic, a competition, a race against time, and a mad dash to the finish line.
Let go of the expectation that life is an endless chaotic current. Give yourself permission to be still. Walk through your day observing the currents of life, holding your ground and allowing those currents to sweep past you like the wind sweeps around a tree. Be like the boy in the hospital quietly observing the chaos. You are not helpless and adrift. You are conscious, strong, and fully capable of directing your life.
