Most People go so far in Life and then they Park

In listening 16 times to the Best of Les Brown I was struck by the reference he makes in the first track to a saying by Maya Angelou,

“Most people go so far in life and then they park.”

He had spent some time with her and he too had been touched by these words. You can hear the emotion in his voice as he describes the 14 years he was parked. The things that happened to him that stopped him in his tracks and had him pulling over to the side of the road. The pauses on his journey to greatness.

Most People go so far in Life and then they Park

What happens when we’re parking? We have reached a particular destination something we have been journeying towards – a goal achieved. Or it could be that life has beckoned us off the road to render assistance to another for the moment. A beautiful scene may call us to pull into a rest area and take it all in or capture it with a photo. Is it a flat tire? Or have we run out of gas.

I find myself being caught in the web of these things, struggling to get out of being parked. I find an interest and explore it for sometime. Like getting out of the car and exploring a wilderness area. I’m inspired and am deeply moved by its soulfulness. There’s a beauty in it to which I’m somehow attracted.

For me those places I’ve parked become landmarks along the way. Foundations in Counselling, Gestalt Psychotherapy, Life Coaching, Shamanism, Reiki. These are areas I’ve explored in the physical universe. And now I’m able to explore similar areas further in the digital universe. Ho’oponopono, NLP, Motivation and then to share these through the medium of a blog.

Emergency Lights

Brown says he parked for a period of 14 years. During this time his Mother contracted cancer, he was afflicted with prostate cancer, a friend died waiting for a liver transplant amongst other challenges. He adds that he didn’t turn on his emergency lights. He didn’t ask for a jump start, didn’t ask for help.

I thought about this for a time and the answer came to me while I was watching the HEAL documentary They played an animation of a butterfly struggling to exit the chrysalis. A well meaning person cuts the chrysalis to fast track the butterfly’s exit. Unfortunately the butterfly hasn’t gained the strength required to take flight and so falls to ground and dies.

Perhaps in the not asking for help Les Brown was developing the strength and beauty he required to go out and become the powerful and passionate speaker he is today.

And all those parks I’ve pulled into are the different areas of personal development that have been building strength in me.

I didn’t feel as if I was putting on emergency lights to seek help. It felt as though these modalities were appearing as required. Signposts beckoning me to seek fuller expression of who I am to become. Drawing me onward to my fullest self. As I struggle to assimilate new information and new modes of being I am wrestling within the chrysalis of my soul to bring strength to wings I need to fly.

The Hero’s Journey

Speaking of the soul one of the most interesting instances of parking I came across was in Carol Pearson’s reading of the Hero’s Journey in “Awakening the Hero Within” . There are three parts to the Hero’s Journey – The Preparation or Initiation, the Journey, and the Return. In her studies she discovered often people would reach a certain stage in their journey and then stop.

These aspects of the Hero’s Journey were based on archetypes – primal imagery that informed one’s soul journey. The archetypes that populated the journey were, Innocent, Orphan, Caregiver, Warrior, Seeker, Creator, Lover, Destroyer, Ruler, Magician, Sage and Fool.

Being male or female can mean we resonate with particular archetypes. Women are often drawn to inhabiting the Caregiver while Men are attracted to the Warrior and both are usually invested in the Lover. In non traditional relationships both sexes could manifest as Warrior at work and Caregiver at home.

Pearson, during twenty + years of studying archetypes and how they affected people noted that for some the journey would stop once certain archetypes were assimilated. (Lover, Caregiver, Warrior). In their lives most people go so far in life and then they park. They became comfortable in those archetypal roles and obviously made peace with that and decided that is how life would be.

Conscious Parking

Most people go so far in life and then they park. We can opt for conscious parking. Sure we are going to get events that pull us off to the side of the road that we may call fate. They might keep us busy for some time as they unfold and fold back into the fabric of our life. We may struggle during these times. And struggle makes us stronger. If we bring consciousness to these times and make choices around the challenges we can feel at least a little control over the circumstances that have arisen.

Crossroads

Often these circumstances will leave us at a crossroads. A good time to pull over before we sail on through to consider the possible consequences. Do you make a turn to the left or the right or keep on going straight through?

I know I’ve come to several crossroads in my life. Crossroads in relationships and career. I’m lucky enough to have a trade (Cooking and Hospitality) that has provided a stable platform to enable a variety of experiences within that. An Air Force career as a chef, working in schools, restaurants, a YMCA camp as Catering Manager, Convention centres and stadiums, festivals, and prisons.

Rather than taking a right or left turn and going in a new direction I have ventured into these little cul-de-sacs that have maintained my interest in what I’m doing. Alongside of this as I mentioned before I’ve veered of into explorations in the self/personal development field. Each of these has served me well in my ongoing growth as a spiritual being having a human experience.

Blessings