Thinking back to the source…
I freely admit that while I loved the idea of thinking back to the source of something, tracing it all the way back to where it began as a thought, the idea of doing this with a battleship really wasn’t very appealing. Nothing against the military because I know there has been a necessity for our armed forces, but I don’t like that there is that conflict in the world. So I did vary this a bit. Instead of imagining how the ship came to be, I imagined how the servicemen and women came to be there. I thought back through their training, their families at home, the teachers they’d had, the sports they may have played, the songs they may have sung, being little girls and boys, being born to parents, being the twinkle in the eye of their parents. Seeing how many influences they had on their lives was truly eye-opening. What made them want to serve their country in the military? Was this something they’d always dreamed of or was it a way to pay for college? Yeah, you can say I’m a people person! 🙂 I also found it fascinating to imagine how the food and clothing for the service people came about. Tracing the clothing from the manufacturers all the way back to the cotton being grown on a field in Alabama (I’ve driven past lots of cotton fields there!). Seeing the food grown in various parts of the world and how it got to the ship as sustenance for those sailors.
So what did this little exercise show me? It’s amazing how all interconnected we are and yet we often feel so alone. We seem light years away from each other, yet we are affected by what someone does halfway across the world. How many steps there are in the process to bring something to fruition can be mind-boggling. So while at first I didn’t like the subject of the exercise, I did find that I enjoyed the exercise itself and it has shown me there’s so much more than simply on the surface. It, along with Scroll II and the Mental Diet, has made me more tolerant and patient with people. That’s a good thing!
As part of this week, I gave up TV. I’d already been moving in that direction, but I was firm in my resolve to not watch TV. Instead of watching TV, my hubby and I began playing board games, something I have never really enjoyed. But this week, it became fun. Before I didn’t like to lose. I would be so down on myself and feel less than worthy. Crazy, right? But this week, while I did lose a couple of games to my hubby, that feeling wasn’t there. It was very much a feeling of “I never lose; I either win or I learn.” I didn’t take it personally. Do y’all know how HUGE that is? It’s like one of The Four Agreements finally sunk in!
I’m also doing the Go90Grow program of Mark’s and one thing really stood out to me in listening to the Hero’s Journey portion – be decisive. In the past, that hasn’t been my typical nature. I didn’t want to offend anyone if I made a choice they weren’t happy with. So since I listened to that, I’ve become more aware of when I am being indecisive and I tell myself to make a decision. And you know what? It’s very freeing! The combination of saying, “Do It Now!” and being decisive has made me incredibly industrious. Lots of things are getting done that I would’ve typically left to do later. Procrastination is no longer a habit. HALLELUJAH!
Now I understand when I watched the videos when deciding whether to do the MKMMA why people all said how much it changes your life. I bid farewell to the old Vicki cause there’s a new Vicki in town!
