What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
Sometimes
we judge ourselves
a workaholic,
because after hours and hours
of work
we still feel
like we should work
more.
But upon reflection,
we may realize
that had our hours and hours
of work
fulfilled our need
to make progress
we may not feel like
we should work
more.
A goal
is something you can
achieve.
A vision
is a guide
that directs your life.
If all we have
are goals,
once we achieve them
we can get
lost.
If all we have
is a vision,
it can be hard
to make
progress.
We tend to associate
progress
with forward movement.
But sometimes
stopping
and not moving at all
can be progress,
if that’s what’s required
for us gain the clarity required
to move
not merely forward,
but in the direction
we desire.
We tend to associate
progress
with forward movement.
But forward movement
is not necessarily
progress
if in the wrong direction
In fact,
it may be
the opposite
of progress.
May we check
our direction
before assuming
progress.
A vision
is supposed to be
unclear.
Gaze upon a mountain
far ahead
in the distance.
How much detail
do you see?
How much difference
will be there
between our vision of the mountain
and the mountain
when we arrive
at the top?
Our vision
becomes clearer
as we get closer.
Sometimes
we ask
“Am I doing
enough?”
Forgetting to ask
“Enough
to what?”
Without the answer
to the second question,
our sense of progress
can be
unclear.
Once
our sense of progress
becomes
clear,
the first question
may become
unnecessary.
Telling someone
who feels stuck
to have more patience and grit
is akin to telling
a drowning person
to keep holding their breath.
There are times
when progress is merely slow.
Then there are times
when we are stuck.
When progress is slow,
our direction need not change.
Thus,
with patience and grit
we can prevail.
But when we are stuck,
we must significantly change direction
—even if momentarily.
The question is
in which direction?
To support someone feeling stuck
may we be there
by their side
to help them learn
the requisite new choice
of direction.
Focusing on a desire
of what we want
can create the tension
required to motivate us
to keep moving
toward the future.
And yet,
such desire alone
can often lead us
to inadvertently focus
on where we are not.
It is in being aware
of not only our desire,
but also the progress
we’ve made thus far
that we may recognize
where we are.
It is in this awareness,
where notions of
past, present, and future
can make way
for a sense
of belonging.
A sense
that we deserve
to be where we are,
thanks not only
to our own merits,
but also the merit
of our supporters,
and our circumstances.
It’s ok to give up.
What may be more important
is getting to the heart of what we want.
Not the thing we say or think we want,
but the thing for which our heart yearns,
floating right on the threshold
of our conscious and sub-conscious.
Once we become aware of what this is,
we tend to realize that there are many ways to attain this.
In that moment, “giving up” becomes
but a matter of giving up one of many methods of attaining this.
If so,
“giving up” can eliminate the very thing getting in the way
of making progress:
our insistence on a particular method.
Thereby helping us make greater progress
toward attaining what we want
if even if it is merely temporary.
