Mind Where You Look!
Patrick, a genuine daredevil, whose diverse background includes having been a Buddhist monk in Burma, a leadership trainer and a follower of the Native American medicine path, was also a race car driver when he was younger (maybe he still does this… not sure). Patrick was telling us about how, when you are trained to drive a race car, you have to learn what to do when your car goes out of control, which will inevitably happen sooner or later. He said that when your car starts to go into a spin, the natural instinct is to look at the wall, because you are afraid you are going to go careening into it. And, at all costs, the one thing you DON’T want to do is hit that wall!
Well, while that may be your instinct, it is actually the absolute WORST thing you can do, because if your eyes are focussed on the wall, well guess where you’re going to go? That’s right. Instead of steering clear of the wall, that is EXACTLY where you are going to end up…
In short, we drive the direction in which we choose to look.
This is a fantastic metaphor for how we can navigate through the inevitable “tail spins” of life. When you are stuck in an undesirable or difficult situation, the very worst thing you can do is to dwell upon what you don’t want. When you spend your energy this way, you will “drive” yourself even more deeply in that direction. So, to make sure you don’t hit that “wall” in life, rather than focussing upon what you DON’T want, turn your focus in another direction… in the direction of what you WANT in life. Then, you will “drive” towards it without effort.
It is sometimes just so easy to get stuck into life’s difficulties. When we feel unhappy, we tend to dwell on the unhappiness, which prevents us from seeing alternatives. The deeper we go into our own dissatisfaction, the more time and energy we spend on rationalising our position through anger, blame, mistrust and loss of hope. And the more “rational” our dissatisfaction appears to our minds, the more likely we are to stay exactly where we are.
Speaking for myself, I was stuck for decades in that cycle of “looking at the wall”, constantly fighting off one “spin” after another in life. I knew in my heart that there was a field somewhere, but I always thought, “How can I ever get there? I’m always too busy trying to avoid the wall!”
But then fortunately, one day, the light bulb finally got switched on in my brain. I turned my focus toward my own field of fulfilment. Since then, I have never felt the urge to turn my focus back towards my “wall” again. I see green, green fields ahead of me, even when life occasionally sends me into the inevitable “spin”. I am not talking about blind, naive optimism. I am talking about having our eyes wide open and focussed– a focus that is borne of divine trust and life purpose. It is not that spins won’t happen; of course they will. But when we keep our eyes on the field, we are able to navigate back to ourselves, and bring our lives back into control, choice, empowerment and peacefulness.
That’s how ordinary mortals like me can feel the adrenaline rush of being a race car driver, without having to be a natural daredevil like Patrick.
So today, take a moment to pay attention to where you are looking in life. Are you looking at the wall, continually trying to avoid it? If so, then turn around and have a look in the other direction. Cast your vision towards that lovely green field of awareness, and trust that you will be carried there effortlessly if you only allow that your natural navigational system take you back to your true Self.
This article originally appeared in Creative Living, November 2008.
Copyright 2008 Lynn Serafinn, all rights reserved.
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P.S.: You can visit Patrick Ryan at www.awakenedwisdom.com.
