Life can be changeable, unpredictable, challenging, rewarding and fun.  Lots of times it flows with grace and ease.  However, other times it can feel like we are dragging a heavy weight behind us as clamber over the daily challenges that stand in the way of this flow. Negotiating this every day can be exhausting, leaving us with no energy to pursue our purpose and passion.  We can feel “stuck” demotivated and stressed. 

I was reminded recently of this when in conversation with a friend who was lamenting the fact that despite their best efforts they don’t seem to achieve all that they think they should. That they feel unfulfilled and lost.  And they were speculating if there might be other things at play, almost in the background, that was preventing them from achieving their goals in life. 

So I suggested that if they could metaphorically look at what’s behind them, if they could acknowledge and accept that these current challenges might be part of the systems they belong to, then perhaps this would explain why things weren’t flowing at this time.

We all belong to systems, the first being the family we were born into and with each system that we are part of (school, college, organisations), comes the unspoken rules of that system. Rules such as what we accept, what we exclude, how we treat each other.  The unconscious acceptance of these rules means that we behave in accordance with these rules as not to do so would mean exclusion from this system. 

So in our need to belong we can behave and react in a way that is not true for us.  This can explain why we might not feel aligned or in our right place in life. We can feel that there is a lack of enthusiasm, clarity, energy, joy, meaning, and purpose in our life. 

What if you could look behind you?  What if you took an opportunity to recognise, acknowledge and accept all the systems that you belong to like the feathers of the peacock displayed in all their glory?