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Reflections of the Cave Rescue

7/24/2018

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We heard so much about the soccer team that was rescued from the cave. There is so much we can learn from this experience. How did you react when you heard about the drama as it unfolded? Were you nervous? Did it reinforce your fear of closed in spaces? Were you thinking that they were not going to be rescued and they would die in an underground tomb? How did you feel when they were rescued?

The reason I am writing about this today is because if you had asked those young boys how their day was going to go, never would have told you that they were going to get caught in a cave for two weeks with no food and little water. They were trapped in a massive underground structure with no way to signal anyone as to their whereabouts. So what can we glean that would be useful to us living our lives on a daily basis?

Lesson # 1. Life doesn’t always go the way we plan.  Prior to the exploration of the cave they didn’t know there was going to be a two week departure from their daily routine. Prior to the event happening none of them most likely ever worried about their survival in such a concrete way.
Did you worry about them and their survival? I’m certain that most everyone experienced feelings as the drama unfolded. Some people probably felt hopeful for them, others nervous for them.  However the question needs to be asked, how much anxiety did you feel for them? Did it preoccupy you day? Even if it didn’t preoccupy your day, did your worry for them have any direct or indirect impact on them? What would happen if you didn’t worry about them? Would it mean that you didn’t care?

Lesson #2. Worrying doesn’t have any effect on the world or anything that happens in the world. When you worry, you only affect yourself and how you view and see the world. When you worry you look at the world through that lens and more worry get reflected back at you. Worry will only reinforce worry.

I was really struck by the news reports that said that the boys were in good spirits when they were discovered. Since there is no way  of knowing exactly how they were feeling prior to being discovered, it is nice to know that they were described as being in good spirits. What if they themselves were a group of nervous youngsters? What would the effect of anxiety have on their physical bodies? We all know what anxiety feels like, could their bodies survive with the added stress to an already stressful situation? Perhaps the coach was the stabilizing factor. Or perhaps one or more of the children themselves were.  

Lesson #3. One person can make a difference in the whole dynamic of a group. Never underestimate the power of one person who can change everything in a group dynamic. One reassuring presence can influence a crowd. They could have lost all hope and the results could have been different if their bodies could not sustain them during their ordeal. The reality is that in every moment they were still alive and that was all that was really required. Remember they had no way of even knowing that efforts were underway to rescue them.

How did you feel when they were rescued? I know from my own personal experience I was moved to see how the world celebrated. I watched how people were celebrating the safe return young boys who prior to the whole incident no one knew. I felt a sense of gratitude for their safety. I felt some sadness for the rescue worker who died. We have no idea what the life’s mission of that particular rescuer was. Perhaps his life’s mission was to facilitate the rescue of those boys. Perhaps the rescue mission would not have been successful if not for the presence of the one who died and the contributions he made to the effort as a whole.

The mission was not easy. Sophisticated technology was used to determine their exact location in the cave. The flooding that occurred meant that there was a tremendous amount of water that needed to be removed before the rescue workers were able to reach the stranded boys. The water was removed pumped out gradually, over time, until it reached a level that was passable for the divers to reach them.

Lesson 4: Life is about taking steps and not quitting. The rescue efforts could have been aborted if they felt that removing small amounts of water at a time was not enough. The water did not have to be removed all at once. They had a plan and they stuck to it.

To me, the example of the cave is an extreme example of how to live our lives to the fullest every day. As long as you have life, you always have possibilities. Nothing is impossible. The very fact that you can conceive of something makes it possible. No matter what the odds look like it really means nothing, because everything is possible. Life calls for flexibility, a willingness on our part to not be so determined to have everything go the way we want it to.  Life includes everything even the certainty of death of the physical body. Know that it is the body that dies, not our eternal soul. Celebrate and make the most of your time here now. It is a gift. Do the things that you feel are in alignment with who you are, even if you think that it cannot be done. If these young boys can survive in a cave for two weeks in cave with no idea that anyone would find them, how bad is your own personal situation? You are reading these words…you are here NOW. Go make the most of it.

© Michael S. Morris, MA LLP
Totality, LLC
 

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Don't Be Shy...

7/12/2018

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There is a beautiful song written by Cat Stevens called,
"Don't Be Shy" 
The lyrics are:
​
Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by 
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there 
Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead 
And don't be shy, just let your feeling roll on by 
On by
You know love is better than a song 
Love is where all of us belong 
So don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by 
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there 
You're there
Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by 
Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there 
Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead 
And don't be shy, just let your feeling roll on by 
On by, on by...
Don't Be Shy lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC


Shyness is a form of fear. In this form, fear will allow no one to see you. This form of fear will keep you isolated; alone and could potentially lead to depression. You will not be able to feel your life in any positive way. So what about the line of just lift your head and let your feelings out instead? Is it that simple?

No. We don’t want to go through life lifting our heads and letting everything out. We might say or do something we didn’t really mean in a fit of anger or fear or sadness. The lyrics talk about letting your feelings roll on by. Yes, this is more the case. Compare feelings to waves on the ocean. The ocean is a busy place, tsunamis, waves of all sizes to areas of the ocean where you can see your reflection in something that appears to be as smooth as glass. The point is that no matter what is going on with the ocean at any particular place, the ocean itself is undisturbed. The ocean is just being as it is. Like waves in the ocean, your feelings do indeed come and go. You are never locked into any particular feeling forever. To successfully realize this one must be willing to take a step back and see if this is really true. Yes, you might feel like you are trapped within the grip of anxiety, but even if you think you are, don’t you ever find yourself laughing at something you heard or saw? In that moment you were free of your anxiety as the joy of what you experienced took fear’s place. So this is what the lyrics are really referring to. If you can watch your feelings roll on by, you will notice that they are in no way permanent.

Which leads me to the next point of the lyrics…
‘Love is better than a song and where we belong’: Love is where our natural state of being rests. The reason we are unaware of this is because negative feelings cover over our natural state. We spend so much time dwelling on our fears anger and sadness, that we never feel our true nature. When we cease to see our feelings as being who we are, we can begin to realize that they are merely an experience that we are having in the moment. When you allow the feelings to ‘roll on by’ we can begin to see that they merely come and go. We can experience our feelings as the color of life, each feeling having a different shade. We can’t expect life to be just the colors we want, nor can we eliminate colors from the spectrum. We can soon be able to enjoy all the colors life has to offer. It is only from this place where we can begin to feel our love.

Having this knowledge will ultimately make you feel better right away. So don’t be shy, just let your feelings roll on by and have a good day!

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Fake News?!?!?!?

7/6/2018

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What if everything that happens is neutral? Has no good or bad attached to it. What if everything in life is just open to interpretation? That everything is just our personal spin on the issue. We hear so much these days about fake news, and its hard to know what is real and what is not. What if it was all fake news? How would that feel? You’d never really take anything very seriously. Would that be a relief? I bet it would.

We are a product of our pain and our programming. What makes us hurt emotionally is nothing more than a spin on something that we decided the meaning of. Emotional pain is a divine tool to be used to discover what is really  true. The truth is everything is true. The truth is that nothing is true. Confused? Perhaps your mind is .

At this point allow yourself to merely notice the thoughts but do not engage with them to any large extent.  Rather and preferably take some time to allow yourself to feel the inherent space between these two statements. Say each phrase one at a time noticing how each one feels. Keep repeating them over and over again keeping your attention on the feelings and sensations you experience as they are repeated. What you will find is that the truth is somewhere in the middle leaving you feeling more peaceful and easy. Fake News??? REALLY?!?! 
​
© 2018 Michael S Morris, MA LLP
Totality, LLC
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