An Examined Life

Today I watched a young man at a bus stop carry on quite an animated conversation with himself. Clearly there was a disagreement, and it was evident he was trying to make a serious point by the way he was swinging his arms.

I smiled at the obvious comedy, but then started thinking that maybe he wasn’t as crazy as he looked. A good argument with himself might just what he needed. Iron sharpens iron, or in that instance, iron would sharpen itself I guess.

Why is it that so many of us seem to lack the confidence to take ourselves on? We acquiesce, giving in without a fight. I am sure that most have the ability, the knowledge, and the understanding to go toe to toe with our ego, intellect, or even emotions. I mean what could we possibly be afraid of? What do we have to lose?

But still the conversation goes “I don’t know why I let myself get away with that, I don’t know what I was thinking, I’ve really got to give myself a talking to”.

I often find myself saying one thing and doing another – a complete contradiction.

I have been thinking about this idea that in fact, most of us are actually right where we want to be – even when we say we aren’t. I understand that there are sometimes valid external, extenuating circumstances that hold us back from what we really want. But in many other instances, if I don’t feel I am where I want to be, why don’t I do what is needed to get there? Maybe I don’t really want to get there, or I don’t want to do the work required for that journey.

So, if where you want to be is not where you are, but you’re not really willing to do what it takes to get there, where does that leave you? I figure pretty much in the same place as that young guy at the bus stop.