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Clearing Customs Previous Story
The most difficult borders to cross are our own.
He calls his ex to ask why they hadn’t tried harder to keep their relationship together. He laments, spinning in the past, while she patiently listens, openly, as she always has. Just as before.
A friend’s daughter has a personal crisis. He rushes to pitch in—to aid and protect his daughter from the harsh realities and brunt of a tough situation, as he always has. Just as before.
Once again, I find myself in a conversation (frustratingly familiar) that annoys me beyond measure, and I slide predictably into negativity, as I always have. Just as before.
We move in expected ways, designed years and decades earlier—in patterns that don’t serve us, yet we persist. In disabling routines we find comfort and excuses for not getting on with our lives. We write, produce, and act out self-preserving dramas that keep us from becoming someone new, perhaps someone excitingly different.
While traveling across national borders we find ourselves inching in line toward the customs officer. Once clear, we are immediately in a different country, with different possibilities. We realize that all of our pre-scribed routines are like the dull familiarity of border crossings. Our interior journey is monitored by imaginary officials who continually check our readiness to clear customs—to shift from weary routine to meaningful, deliberate action. We can choose to move past our “customary” habitual behaviors and enter a new place. Yet our attachments hold us deeply to tradition—lugging heavy baggage that disrupts our dream of moving smoothly forward. In the end, we must ask ourselves if we have the courage and confidence to step across the line and clear our customs.
You may also want to visit our other websites:
Uncommon Promise Video Channel
Under the Tuscan Thumb Blog
The UP Side Lowdown by Cheryl
A friend’s daughter has a personal crisis. He rushes to pitch in—to aid and protect his daughter from the harsh realities and brunt of a tough situation, as he always has. Just as before.
Once again, I find myself in a conversation (frustratingly familiar) that annoys me beyond measure, and I slide predictably into negativity, as I always have. Just as before.
We move in expected ways, designed years and decades earlier—in patterns that don’t serve us, yet we persist. In disabling routines we find comfort and excuses for not getting on with our lives. We write, produce, and act out self-preserving dramas that keep us from becoming someone new, perhaps someone excitingly different.
Our luggage from carousel B
While traveling across national borders we find ourselves inching in line toward the customs officer. Once clear, we are immediately in a different country, with different possibilities. We realize that all of our pre-scribed routines are like the dull familiarity of border crossings. Our interior journey is monitored by imaginary officials who continually check our readiness to clear customs—to shift from weary routine to meaningful, deliberate action. We can choose to move past our “customary” habitual behaviors and enter a new place. Yet our attachments hold us deeply to tradition—lugging heavy baggage that disrupts our dream of moving smoothly forward. In the end, we must ask ourselves if we have the courage and confidence to step across the line and clear our customs.
You may also want to visit our other websites:
Uncommon Promise Video Channel
Under the Tuscan Thumb Blog
The UP Side Lowdown by Cheryl
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