For a long time now my main mission in life has been to prove it’s easy, fun, and magical. The few “guidelines” we need to follow making our existence worth every moment is almost laughable. This doesn’t mean there won’t be times of frustration and grief. All of us have the occasional fire needing extinguished. We encounter unexpected emergencies, situations, and setbacks easily labeled as unwanted, annoying, and painful. Me too. Happens all the time. I wish it didn’t, but there is a part of the equation I always have control over, and that’s how I choose to react.
Water puts out fire. If you disagree with this, you can stop reading now, it won’t do any good to go further. When the fires of life rear up and block our progress, the watery equivalent is necessary to clear the path so we may resume our journey. I’m sure this makes sense. More fire will obviously increase and lengthen the conflict, yet this is the preferred method of dealing with problems as most encounter them. Don’t believe me? Let’s see if any of these illustrations sound familiar.
- A man hears a friend has died. He decides to get drunk.
- A person is suspected of stealing at the office. Angered, they go home and spend the night thinking of ways to get back at their accuser.
- A supervisor at work is tired of never being listened to. As a result he has a meeting and demands even louder that his orders must be remembered and followed.
- A group that opposes war goes on a march to voice opinions against the enemy.
- A preacher spends his life pointing out what is wrong with the world and why people will suffer if they do not change.
- A woman complains they are unloved and never going to find the right person
- A person spends most of their time blaming. They wait for others to realize their mistakes.
These are no doubt stereotypical situations, but the futility of their approach is obvious. All are cases of fighting fire with fire. Let’s turn around the same ideas and see how they look if symbolic water is used to confront these circumstances.
- A man hears a friend has died. He goes home and starts writing about him. It becomes the eulogy to his funeral.
- A person is accused of stealing at the office. Intrigued, they wonder if they can help find the real culprit. They spend the night formulating a strategy to help in the investigation.
- A supervisor at work is tired of never being listened to. He realizes that HE cannot listen while he is talking. He calls a meeting and asks of his employees what they want of him.
- A group that supports peace goes on a march and voices opinions why their way of life is productive and desirable.
- A preacher spends his life pointing out what is right and good in the world and why people will be happier if they align with these examples.
- An unloved woman becomes full of praise and love for others so she will attract someone who is likewise.
- A person spends most of their time taking responsibility. They realize they hold the power to change their life.
Why fight against what we don’t want when cheering for what we do want will have a more creative outcome? Remember, focusing on the eradication of what we wish to eliminate does nothing to build a vision of what will replace it. Those people who move forward with determination and resolve are also the ones who continue to ignore their critics. They know it’s a waste of time to defend against attitudes and situations that are beyond their control; here lies the need for the serenity prayer. Do not, however, misinterpret this action as opening up yourself to attack. The easiest way to define the best objective is to use action to attract what is desired, and reserve reaction to dissuade what threatens growth. It really comes down to not using anything negative as a tool of progress. Don’t fight for what you want, work for it. Don’t label your situation as problematic, label it as opportunistic. Don’t dread the unknown, be excited by it. There are no mistakes, just learning experiences, and these examples aren’t clichéd, they are tried-and-true.
When I let the fires “out there” ignite my own, it’s usually fueled by an overabundance of impatience and selfishness. “My way and fast” usually leads to some sort of catastrophe. At the very least it’s rude and thoughtless. The first set of situations listed above are self-centered, while the second set is based in humility, and that’s really all it’s about. How may I serve? How can I contribute to the dreams of others? Let me offer my assistance. Let me help. It’s kind of weird, but I have more interest and gain more satisfaction in helping others to achieve their dreams rather than work exclusively on my own. Imagine if everyone did this? What a paradise would come to existence. I am water. Show me the fires of destruction and I will rain upon them.
Please follow my blog. Comment and share as you wish.
With Love and Compassion, Daniel Andrew Lockwood
LIGHT ON THE THRESHOLD 
I completely agree! …. and your joking finale had me laughing. 🙂
LikeLike
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
I always loved this quote from Einstein, because, for me, it highlighted the power of FOCUS. As you reiterated so well in your article, “where your focus goes, your energy flows.” When you spend your energy focusing on the PROBLEM, all you are doing is strengthening the vibration of the problem. In a quantum universe designed around the law of attraction, strengthening the metaphysical vibration of the problem is the opposite to manifesting the solution. When people are in the mind space, the vibrational space, of the problem…. The only thoughts they are a match to thinking are thoughts of the problem. This is why you hear meditation and, “go home tonight and sleep on it,” and other such advice being thrown around so often. We must shift our thoughts from focusing on the problem to a place where we are a match to focusing on the solution. As you wrote, when you focus on what you WANT to manifest, then you are strengthening the vibration which corresponds to what you want. That vibration is broadcast to the universe, and the universe computes that “this predominant vibration is what calls to be matched,” so the universe will send you the exact match to your focus. Solutions-focused? Prepare to receive your solution!!
When you see people “fighting” for what they believe in, what they’re ACTUALLY doing, vibrationally, is RESISTING THAT WHICH THEY DO NOT WANT. When the feminists in the 60’s fought for gender equality, what they were actually doing was RESISTING WHAT IT “MEANT” TO BE FEMALE in that time period. Instead of “I have the power to say what femininity means for me,” it became, “Hey you, male person, I can do anything you can do too! [I’m not a fragile female only good for baby-making.]” So… while the underlying movement for equality is admirable, and I agree with equality, the feminist movement was FOCUSED more on what they were RESISTING, as opposed to what they wanted to truly create. Now, in today’s society, the impact of the feminist movement looks like this: Women CAN participate in the workforce… but STILL have to come home to their “2nd shift” domestic duties [as the fragile baby-making female label persists], and men are now so scared of harrassment threats that they are walking on eggshells and feeling powerless. Some may argue that today is STILL improvement on the past (as I think it IS improvement… just google 1950’s commercial advertisements! EESH!). But to say that feminism is “resolved” is a deluded thought. We “fought against” the reality of the time, instead of CREATING what we truly wanted – a society that embraces the TRUE femininity and TRUE masculinity….. concepts which people still don’t truly understand yet today. As you wrote, people must FRAME THEIR “PROBLEM” IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT RESIST THE “PROBLEM,” but accepts the “problem” as merely a stepping stone towards the preferred solution. The second we demonize an issue, we will persist in resistance towards it. However, as you said, when we align with what is wanted, we create an amazing future!
But… as a triple fire sign, I resent your analogy of fire being negative. Being a triple water, I can see why water became analogous to the solution!! 😉 ((Winky face!!! Just teasing!!! Hahaha. I loved this article, AND this awesome synchronicity of ours!! We were destined to be friends!! It’s in the stars for us! Haha!))
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see this attitude magnified a LOT in our world. People often attack what is upsetting them rather than look for a solution.They prefer to shine the spotlight on the enemy rather than create distraction with a better plan. Often the behavior of the dis-tractor is just as, if not more unwanted than those who are being blamed for the “problem,” and in turn it creates a backlash from those they would seek to recruit to their cause. When the audience (those who are on the outside observing the situation) is presented with a situation that has no desirable alternative in sight, all that’s being created is entertainment. In essence the entire picture becomes this big mess that’s interesting to watch but no one wants to get involved with. This line of logic seems to explain the recent flood of “reality” television shows focusing on people and events in turmoil.
It might sound funny but I think it’s a spiritual duty to go through life as “solution salesmen.” Those whom I’m attracted to are passionate, informative, and entertaining. (MMMM….p.i.e.) Look at Tony Robbins. Wow! Anyone who has listened to anything he has done can very quickly come to the conclusion that 1- He REALLY loves his job, 2- He’s fun to listen to and watch, and 3- He REALLY knows how to offer what is wanted.
Passion for what we want drives the world, while while focus on what we don’t want stalls it. Always has. Look at the “war” on poverty that was declared by Lyndon B. Johnson. Not a horrible idea in theory, but it was the wrong vibe. Perhaps an “alliance for prosperity” would have inspired a better plan, who knows?
By the way…..the “fire and water” thing is really just going for a stereotypical picture so people can equate one thing with another quickly. In reality they can BOTH be quite destructive. I know…….I’m a plumber.
LikeLike