SHAFRIKA!

STAR TREK

I had the pleasure of seeing the remake of Star Trek twice over this last month and it seems I have been using it recently to provide metaphors for my life -- both to others and myself.

Two examples:

1) I have recently described the events that are occurring in my life as occurring at warp speed. Where I feel like I am moving through plot points very quickly and simultaneously.

2) I believe that since I am moving at warp speed, it is difficult to keep my close friends and family abreast of all the updates and rationale behind updates. Therefore, I feel like I am lightyears ahead of everyone.

This morning before I left for work, I was pulling on my socks and my foot ripped through, creating a big hole. Five minutes later, I read an email on my iPhone saying that the roommate I was hoping would pull through wasn't going to pull through. Then, when I walked outside, it was grey and cold and I didn't bring my jacket. I said to myself, "this is going to be a bad day." As I walked in the door of my office, I thought of another Star Trek analogy. I felt my shields were down -- shields of perspective that normally help me deflect the irrationalities of life. I worried that because of this, my premonition might come true.

Sure enough, it did. A major "fire" at work happened causing anger, self doubt, confusion, and fear.

But then, I got an email from that roommate saying the apartment may actually work out now, I got support from close friends that helped me deal with the "fire" at work and I read a chapter with great perspective in a new book called The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz on the subway home that said this:

"To be alive is the biggest fear in humans. Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive -- the risk to be alive and express what we really are. Just being ourselves is the biggest fear of humans. We have learned to live our lives trying to satisfy other people's points of view because of the fear of not being accepted and of not being good enough for someone else." (p19)

And then I began to feel my shields coming back.

Somewhere in this day is the secret to how one can actually "Live long and prosper."

ENJOY

A metaphor if you will.

You're walking forward, always moving forward because you have to. Time doesn't stop. As John Mayer says, "you'll never stop this train."

But while the train is moving forward, there's your head that has to process what the never-stopping train is showing you. It's a constantly swinging pendulum of analysis processing what you've seen (past), what you're currently seeing (present) and where you're going (future). You're concerned, then happy, then worried, then excited, then sad, then angry, then scared, then ______ . Sometimes you can get lost in the analysis and forget the present and future. Sometimes you can get lost in the future and forget the past and present. But you can't get lost in the present. When you're in the present, you balance the past and future. The pendulum is at peace. You can rest and look around the views of the train and enjoy yourself. I know this, because this morning I was there -- simply enjoying myself in the present.

Now, as I'm listening to an old favorite song called "Mona Lisa" by Guster (this amazing all-male a cappella group was honored with having their arrangement of this song selected to the 2005 BOCA (Best of College A Cappella) album). With all of the hiding worries in public, all the insecurities about who we are and where we belong in this world, these lyrics struck me today as a reminder that life puts us through exactly what we need to go through to get to where we're going. We are on the train because we need to worry and feel and hurt and love and fear so that one day we realize we have the strength to enjoy our life.

"If in the morning you look up 
Fake a smile and you sigh 
Don’t fear the future 
In the years to come you’ll learn

You'll learn
I used to sit and watch the pouring rain 
I used to wish to be back home again 
I hadn’t the strength then 
I hadn’t the chance to reveal it 
But it’s all in your hands 
When do we begin?"

Whenever we want to start.