Life is Not What it Seems

Not really into books

I was never that fond of reading books until relatively late in life.

In the mid 90s, my wife arrived back from the local library and presented me with a book she thought might appeal to me. It was Graham Hancock’s Fingerprints of the Gods.

I thanked her politely, while sighing quietly to myself. “I’m not really into books”, I thought, “and certainly not books as dauntingly thick as this!”

But something about it caught my fascination. I opened it, read a few pages, and then just couldn’t put it down.

A defining moment

Something as simple as reading that one book turned out to be a defining moment in my life.

I had always passively believed that life was not what it seems or, in other words, that there is a great deal more to life than meets the eye.

Nonetheless, this book, which challenges mainstream thinking about the history of our planet, was the catalyst that really opened my mind and got me actively questioning: “what if…” about pretty much everything in life!

Synchronicity

Fast forward to December 2021.

As I searched for some holiday reading to download to my Kindle, another book jumped out at me, no doubt thanks to what Jung would have called synchronicity.

Reading The Real Anthony Fauci, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. turned out to be another defining moment in my life.

Mind blown open

I had my mind blown wide open yet again.

This time, the cause was nothing to do with the prospect of earth being inhabited in ancient times by a mysterious and technologically advanced civilisation. This time, the reason was much ‘closer to home’ – the crippling reality of the manipulation of our current civilisation.

There are powerful forces, deceptively cloaked as philanthropic in nature, who pursue materialism, profit, politics and power with scant regard to the people they claim to serve.

That alone did not come as a complete surprise.

However, the sheer scale, brazenness and immorality of the corruption and complicity, recorded in agonising detail, provided the real shock.

Like Hancock, Kennedy is a brave and meticulous researcher who presents and documents highly credible evidence in the face of stinging and concerted criticism by the corporates, authorities and shadowy interests exposed by his work.

But I will leave you to make up your own mind about that, if and when you read the book.

Swimming upstream

Save it for me to say that my supposedly relaxed holiday read left me – at least temporarily – deeply discontented and introspective.

As someone committed to bringing greater personal freedom, confidence and growth to the world through life coaching, I suddenly felt like I, and my fellow compatriots in the life coaching industry, were swimming upstream, facing a relentless surge of water released from a collapsing dam wall!

The mud settles

In retrospect, now the muddy water has cleared, I now understand why I needed to face this challenging awakening and reminder.

In life coaching, we expound on the importance of challenge as being a prerequisite for growth. We also express the criticality of taking full personal responsibility for creating one’s own reality. And we demonstrate how to derive strength from within when, as inevitably happens, others criticise your chosen reality or path.

Challenge and responsibility

Challenge and responsibility are uncomfortable concepts for some to embrace. The easier alternative to doing so is to allow the trajectory of one’s life to be dictated by the external world.

Accepting that one’s fate lies outside of one’s control is comforting in the short term. It offers a convenient excuse for ‘blowing with the wind’ and leaving challenges for others to contemplate. It also provides a handy justification for living a life that is mediocre and lacking in real fulfilment.

On the other hand, building a joyous, meaningful, purpose-driven life requires one to exit the comfort zone. It demands the courage to accept full responsibility for one’s life and rise up to face the challenges that life throws your way.

Continual tests of character

We all face continual tests of character designed to help us choose whether to stay the course or make a course correction.

When we opt out of taking responsibility, we are regularly presented with opportunities that offer a path back to a creative, purpose-driven life. (Sadly, the less we flex our responsibility muscles, the less inclined we will feel to start doing so.)

When we embrace responsibility, we are often presented with stiff challenges. These test our commitment to the path we have chosen. They allow us to pause, take stock and renew our faith in the destinations we have chosen for ourselves.

My faith in humankind and my personal choice to commit to life coaching as a vehicle for helping improve the lives of others, and the world in general, was severely tested by what I read during the holidays.

Making the point

“What is the point,” I admit to thinking on more than one occasion, “when there are so many vastly more powerful forces operating to undermine that mission.”

“That is precisely the point!” I now realise, with renewed belief and enthusiasm.

Welcome to 2022 and a year that will be what you make of it.

Together, let’s work to make it a really good one!