Dear Why Team member,
We live in such a diverse world where everyone has a unique style and a unique story. But there are certain symbols recognized by most everyone, independent of the continent they live on or the language they speak. Think of the Mona Lisa, the Nike swoosh, or the image of the globe. Do you remember the image of Atlas carrying the world on his back? Why on his back? What is his story? Could it be a visual for the belief that if a human being doesn’t hold up the world, it will fall?
I have felt such a burden most of my life and was “gifted” with the perceived fall of it all. How arrogant it is to believe life depends fully on us! It’s not that we’re not important; it’s just that maybe we alone are not as important as we think. Over these past seven years, I have learned to relax more into the flow of life, putting up less resistance to what it brings me. I’ve found that not only has life become more fun, I’ve also become far more productive toward all that I aspire to.
When I thought the world needed me to hold it up, I was often hyper-focused on whatever posed the greatest threat to my world at that given moment. I remember a session with my coach, Dr. Curt Spear, who noticed the stress in my life and invited me to Google “Earth Rising.” The image depicts an Earthrise as opposed to a sunrise, filmed from outer space. His intent was to give me much-needed perspective. I was so focused on a single tree that I could not see the forest.
Notice how we can become hyper-focused on a single issue in our lives—often to the exclusion of the abundance around us, including possible solutions to the issue.
In the book The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck’s first three words are simply: “Life is difficult.” Peck then explains that the moment we embrace this truth, life becomes easier. And he means embrace this fact, not complain about it.
Perspective = Attitude
When the weight of the world becomes too much, it helps to remember that we alone are not responsible for holding it up. Life does not unfold fully dependent on us.
Consider the seasons of your life. Are you currently in the winter of your discontent? With a narrow perspective, many see winter as cold and depressing. But because of winter, how much more glorious is the season of spring? What is preparing to bloom in your life? Consider the flower: is it not still a flower before it blooms? A rose is still a rose even when it has only thorns. Can you have faith in the coming season even though you may not yet see it? Seeds begin in the dirt. Are the seasons dependent on us?
Perspective = Attitude
Notice how all these words are merely an invitation to put forth a different perspective—to adopt a different attitude toward life. These words do not change life, nor do they affect the seasons that have and will unfold. Our thoughts do not hold up the world, and the world is not dependent upon our actions. In fact, how many actions do we take out of habit and discipline with very little world-dependent thought? I have found that the more concerned I become about a single issue, the less productive I am in all areas of my life—including the issue of greatest concern.
Doesn’t it all come down to attitude? If we could allow life to be what it will be and unfold the way it will—knowing we are part of life and will naturally be a part of that unfolding—we wouldn’t feel like Atlas, always carrying a burden on our shoulders.
I once met a man who believed his relentless self-criticism propelled him to work 80-hour weeks and was the secret to his financial success. Hmm…success? At what point does he become rich? And by what definition is he rich? Would it surprise you that he’s changed jobs many times? And how productive, in the end, is he really, when he’s selling more than serving—striving more for himself than for others? How heavy must his world be to believe that he alone holds it up?
Life is pleasure and pain. Life just is. But isn’t it our attitude toward the thorns that helps us see the rose? Or, you may consider: isn’t it our attitude toward the rose that helps us deal with the thorns?
Let not the difficulties distract you. Learn to dance in the rain, as the saying goes. That’s how my mother began every summer as a child—at the first rain in May, the shoes came off, and she and her siblings played in the rain to celebrate the beginning of summer.
Is not the rain needed for the flowers’ growth? Does not the rain soften the seeds so they may eventually bloom? Storms can be scary, but the sun will return. How easy it is to lose perspective when we’re so busy holding up our supposedly self-created world. Can we not trust that life is presenting us with different seasons, and it’s up to us to make the most of them? If we expand our awareness to take in more of the world around us, would that not make a single issue in our life smaller? The next time you’re so close to a tree that all you see is the bark—back up! Take in the forest. Google “Earth Rising.” Gain perspective. And consider more a change in your attitude rather than a change in your circumstance.
Is not our attitude toward our circumstances the real source of our suffering? Life is, but suffering is optional. And haven’t we all experienced a change in circumstances because of a change in attitude?
As the saying goes: Our attitude determines our altitude. A higher, lighter attitude can lift you above the minutiae of life and do more to call you into action rather than push you into action. There is much work to do, and doing our part is important, but we alone do not hold up the world. That kind of burden can be crushing. Rather, notice how life has supported you and ask how you may, in turn, be more supportive toward life.
This week, I hope you’ll choose an attitude of hope, faith, resilience, growth, and gratitude—and as a result, become more for yourself and others.
Make it a great week,
Steve Luckenbach