Explore Yourself

Explore Yourself

You are not a unique snowflake. You are not so small and fragile. You are a verdant continent of rich valleys, dark forests, and towering mountains. You are a continent adrift upon an ocean of terrifying emotions and awe inspiring storms.

When we are children we sail upon this mighty ocean without rudder or guide and explore this continent restrained only by the chains of others and walls built by our own fears. Over time we build walls around what we know, put up signs that lead to the uncomfortable parts of our selves that say “do not pass” and try to anchor our continent in shallow waters.

We build a city and no longer explore the wood.

Explore.

I do not know why I felt compelled to relate this missive in the way I did but it possessed me and so I share it with you.

Really this is just a round about way to remind you to put aside time for deep introspection. Too often in life we are reacting. Not just reacting to Life about us, but to ourselves. When we get a great surge of emotion, when we respond without thought, when we act without reasoning those acts.

Of course there are times when we cannot afford the luxury of long periods of consideration. However most of the time we do. Most of the time we can take a second before response. Most of the time we can let the initial taste of an emotion fade and see if it turns from sweet to bitter.

A critical part of our development into adults is understanding how to order and process our complex emotions. However we don’t stop having or building complex emotions once we “mature”. Nor do we stop discovering or having powerful primal drives.

One does not turn from an emotional human to a logical robot simply because they reached the age of majority. You need only think of all the immature adults in your life to know that. Then remember that sometimes the immature adult is you.

So, if you have not strayed from the walls you have built about you in some time it may be time to walk beyond those walls, go through the safe wood and discover yourself anew.

I hope this missive helps in some small way. Thank you and God bless;

~S. Wallace