The anger of a gentle skunk

Once in a while, an outlandish idea may flash in my mind, and though it could stay there and keep my thoughts busy for a while, eventually, I will reach to the conclusion that it’s a rather nice-to-have necessity. And it’s not because of its bizarre nature, but my own unwillingness to go deeper and outline all possible aspects to prioritise and make it profitable in practice. Therefore, this idea will sink into a certain “drawer” of my mind and patiently wait for the right time to come and make me take the needed actions.

It’s always nice to have something stored, especially in one of those moments when we thrive to accept the wisdom that everything we have in the here and now is everything we need, irrespective of whether we perceive it as abundance or a resource to create abundance. Moreover, we will be offered a good number of supportive events to refresh that bizarre idea and help us realise what its profound meaning is all about. Consequently, we may get to the point that what we have considered as a nice-to-have necessity is actually a fundamental need.

Conceiving the fundamental need to protect me and survive among all other species came out as a sign of a little skunk. Unquestionably, the fame of this gentle animal was a reason good enough to urge me to get rid as soon as possible of it. Thus, focusing entirely on the smelly surface of that story I missed the chance to read the full content of the message. A mere defence mechanism is not enough to reveal the whole and real nature even of a little skunk, but still, it’s a good first sign to keep away the foes and to be respected.

Some signs and symbols do not come in our life to simply measure our intelligence and emotional advancement. Their only purpose is to make us further grow in order to see their whole beauty, although at a first glance it could be hidden behind some repellent layers. I brought up my little skunk to discover its patience, prudence and peaceful character. This cute fellow taught me that being a gentle person is not a weakness to be ashamed of. I only had to find my defence mechanism and learn how to wisely use it.

The gentleness and the devastating anger are two sides of one and the same medal. It takes time for a peaceful creature to be taken out of emotional control and a great dose of profanity not being able to read all signs which have been shouting “back off.” When the fear of our physical or emotional survival has been triggered, anger comes to take its role as a defence mechanism and not to define us as a “smelly” personality. It gives a reputation powerful enough to keep all trespassers at a healthy distance and the freedom to enjoy the right of being good.

My sheltered creativity

I sometimes find myself in strange places, triggering the feeling of not knowing where I am. It may give the sense of being lost or trapped to blissfully enjoy the peace and calmness of the surrounding environment. The leading emotion which has brought me to that place could be different, but still, it always pushes me to find a way out and ground myself into the present reality. Asking me how and why I got there will definitely offer a reasonable answer, but on the contrary, how to get out of that place will look like a significant challenge.

A stream of thoughts and feelings may appear and reappear, and neither of them will seem as a successful solution. It’s just like staying on the beach and waiting for each new wave to come with the hope that it will be good enough for riding. Eventually, you may find yourself just staying there and doing nothing apart from sensing each next touch of the waves, which sometimes could be stronger or gentle, or they might have hardly tapped your toes. And no, that hasn’t been a waste of time – the water has already helped you clear out your thoughts.

That “place”, whatever name you have given it, is nothing but a pure creation of your imagination. It’s real since you have made it feel real and there’s nothing and nobody in the world to make you see it differently. This place is both a prison and a shelter; an obstacle and a chance to fly. It’s all about how you perceive it. If you have been capable enough to lift the sea to make a shelter for yourself and it is real, then you have already created your perfect riding wave and it is also real. Just step out and give it a push to make it more exciting.

You have taken the right solution before settling yourself into that place since its other name is actually your escape and liberation. Even now if you hear your inner voice shouting - “No, it was not my choice to be isolated, neglected or rejected”, just think how long that same voice was shouting – “I need a change!” Then, your imagination has offered you the perfect place to make you get out of there. Your creative skills have built an enigma with an answer placed on the other side of the medal. You only need to turn and read it. 

Should you have consciously gone to that place with the idea for a little sweet escape and you have felt that it is real, then, it’s up to you to choose whether it will remain as a real dream or you will simply find a way to bring it into the present reality. A list, containing all steps and instructions, has long ago been carefully placed right on the other side of the medal. Should you still be wondering who has done this favour for you, the answer is already clear. Now think, being sheltered in a way is good, but living your dream sounds much better! 

A memory of the hidden self

It’s really great to know that while moving through time and space, we have the ability to keep our memories of what it has once been. We definitely don’t remember everything as it is more important to live in the here and now instead of dwelling on the past events of our life. There certainly are as well, some past events, which are much better to be forgotten and not carrying their burden forward. Whatever memories we have brought to the present, they come to show us where we have been and how much we have changed.

Our memories have the incredible abilities to pop up out of the blue whenever and wherever we least expect them. They can be provoked by meeting accidentally an old acquaintance in the street, visiting a cherished place we haven’t been for years, encountering a picture and even a good old song. That’s the moment when we “secretly” turn back to the past to recollect how it has all been. These moments will usually make us smile or shed a tear, but most importantly, they will help us realise how different it is all now.

There’s yet another type of memories which also have the knack to unexpectedly overwhelm us, looking as if they have come out of the nowhere. Their appearance resembles haunting of ghosts and no matter how hard we may try to lock them into the deepest drawer of our minds and force ourselves to forget, they keep on coming over and over again. Those memories are usually connected with some pretty painful events, and living with the idea that time can heal everything looks like the least suitable solution to overcome the issue.

Taking that aching piece of our souls and trying to bury it in the past, hoping that we will never hear its voice again is just an illusion. We can’t hide it from the world and even from ourselves, as our soul has been meant to be complete. It will follow us through time and space as an unfinished business in search of a certain solution. The memory of that hidden self will be constantly projected on different people and places till we find the strength within ourselves to go back there again and personally heal it. 

It may take some time to get ready meeting our hidden self and accepting it as a part of ourselves again. There’s no need to fear the meeting as the pain will be just a memory from the past. The time will have done its best service to make us grow and change, to be strong enough to handle it. Looking back to the past will be a mere observation of what it has already been, and no matter how we have felt there and then, it is all different now. Within that moment we may need to forgive or ask for forgiveness, to close that page and freely move on. 

No mistakes in the tango

I have to confess that as a dedicated dancer it took me a significant period of time to take the tango into my heart. And it’s not about the steps, but the music you should feel before you actually start dancing it. Most probably I was wrongly taught that tango was about love and passion while love and passion had a completely different sound for me. The sound, especially of Argentine tango, drew forth emotions which were strange and unfamiliar until I first experienced what nostalgia was, and it was then when I fell in love with it.

Those reminiscences of being happy and complete somewhere there in the past were interestingly entangled with my struggle to get connected with my intuition again, and above all to start trusting it. Tuning into the tango, I realised there was no such other place and time in the Universe, but there and then when one was deeply loved, to overcome the insecurity and doubt by following their intuition. The tango is first of all trust in yourself and your partner, and then, it is trusting that we can do it together whatever gets wrong. 

Following your intuition is just like dancing the tango. It will lead the dance, while you as a follower, will have to step backwards not knowing what’s behind your back. That’s what usually makes us hesitate to follow or not follow it and keep instead the clear predictable line in our lives. Being afraid to make a mistake is a feeling much stronger, than simply choosing to trust. No trust, no enchanting dance together. There will be no dance at all. Our dreams of the great performance on the life stage will remain somewhere in the changing room. 

If you have lost the connection with your intuition, just ask it for a tango and it will come back. Your intuition will make the first step on the dance floor to offer its hand for you. Take your time, as much as you need it, to accept it. You are the one to choose whether the dance will continue in an open or a close embrace. As a leader, your intuition will give you the sign when and how to make the first couple of steps “backwards.” Trust yourself and make them. You can stop for a while to tune into the music, and then your intuition will give you the next direction.

The best thing about dancing the tango with your intuition is that there are no right or wrong steps. It’s all about improvising together and that’s what makes this dance so beautiful. If something accidentally gets wrong, “get all tangled up, and just tango on.” Keep on trusting yourself and your intuition even when it seems that life has not offered you the best place and time for your performance. The task of your intuition is to lead you right there, where you will be able to perform the best figures in your life together.