I live in beautiful Santa Barbara, California where we
have a reputation for year-round perfect weather. But
even paradise has its moments of imperfection. We
call it the June Gloom, a sunshine challenged month,
when coastal haze and fog dominate the landscape.
If one were to make a judgment about Santa Barbara
based on a gloomy day in June, one might miss the
exquisite qualities that have earned the city its
reputation as the "American Riviera".
It's just a moment in time, a moment that temporarily
masks a magnificent reality. Soon the haze will melt
and the fog will lift to reveal Santa Barbara in all its
glory.
How often do we make judgments about ourselves
based on "a moment in time"? How much of our
potential is obscured by unwanted circumstances that
cloud our vision? How often do we just accept "gloom
and doom" as our reality when life's not working?
What you focus on creates your reality. If you're
focusing on the gloom, you might miss the rays of
sunlight trying to break through.
There's a story about three blind men who encounter
an elephant - One reaches up and touches the
elephants broad, muscular torso, another touches its
smooth and sharp tusk and another grabs its
squirming trunk. Because each man is focused on a
different aspect of the elephant, they come away with
three entirely different conclusions about what an
elephant is.
The first declares the elephant to be "like a wall", the
second declares it to be "like a sword" and the third
declares it to be "like a snake". And unless they
decide to broaden their exploration of what lies before
them, they will be stuck in their narrow definition of
reality.
Take a look at where you have put your focus in your
life. Are you dwelling on what's not working, on
mistakes you've made, or regret for past choices? Are
you defining yourself and your potential based on what
is, and what has been, instead of focusing on what's
possible?
Lacking a positive and empowering vision for a better
future is what keeps us stuck in the "gloom and
doom" mentality that plagues us when life's not
working.
A clear and compelling vision for your life that includes
a passionate sense of purpose is the magic elixir, a
potent antidote for navigating past the moments of
gloom that mar your landscape.
If you find yourself in a moment, or a series of
moments where nothing seems to be working the way
you want it to, take a deep breath. Accept what is. Stop
beating yourself up for whatever it is that brought you
to this unhappy place. No one deliberately makes
choices
that will result in negative outcomes. Now you have
some detailed knowledge about what you don't want!
Use this knowledge to craft a new vision for what you
do want.
You don't have to know how you are going to get there.
For the moment, set aside the inner critic that dwells
on the negative, that says you can't have what you
want and just allow yourself to dream.
Like Santa Barbara, when its beauty is temporarily
obscured by the fog, you likely have denied yourself
acknowledgement of all of your own beautiful
qualities. When life's not working, we tend to have
tunnel vision and be aware of only our negative
qualities. And like the elephant, each of us is
multifaceted. Where you focus creates your reality.
Make a commitment to a brighter future by focusing on
all the beauty that lies within you. As Ralph Waldo
Emerson said, "What lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny matters compared to what lies
within us." So if you find yourself grappling with your
own version of "June Gloom", take heart. It's only a
moment in time and know that there is plenty of
sunshine on the horizon.
