Open and Shut Case - or is it?
Carrots, Kombucha, and the walking dead
You've said it before - "I'm never going to ____" again. Maybe you said it in a fit of anger, or in the middle of a completely debilitating situation, like an acknowledgement to the universe that "Ok, lesson learned, can the suffering stop now? I won't do that again!"
And then, over time, something shifts. Maybe you stuck to your promise of never doing that thing again. But we aren't as in control as we'd like to think.
Like the divorce attorney who said "No way. Marriage will never be for me." and then finds themselves wanting to mark their partnership with their children's parent in no other way than...a wedding.
Or the many times in my own life I've said, "Over my dead body would I..." and then it's like a dare that the universe hears as "But what if you did?"
What can I say? I believe in resurrection. I believe we can change our minds. A couple of images to demonstrate the point:
1) Kombucha Girl - Brittany Broski got "internet famous" for making a video about trying kombucha for the first time. Her face instantly became a meme for first showing disgust, and then...on second thought, that probiotic bevy is pretty tasty.
Brittany takes her first sip of Kombucha from a can, then makes a disgusted face, then her face shifts to surprising joy
2) Then there's Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind, who with utmost seriousness digs in a field for a lone carrot to feed her family with while the American South burns during the Civil War.
The quote is longer than I'd remembered when clinging to this image in the past. I thought you could just insert anything there, "As God is my witness, I'll never..." but the actual quote is this, "As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me.I'm going to live through this and when its all over, I'll never be hungry again.No, nor any of my folk."
And regardless of what your "never again" is, wayfinder, let me assure you, "They're not going to lick (defeat) you."
Ok friends, let's roll up our sleeves and keep showing up in the world with kindness, compassion, and curiosity. Let's keep following our joy and making meaning out of the carrots in the ground and the kombucha in our fridge.
It is a privilege to make this way with you.
— Elaine
P.S. I'm opening up a couple of special spots this summer for 1:1 wayfinding clients - 3 sessions for $450. If this is you, just reply or pass the word on to whoever it is.
This reflection is part of Wayfinder's Weekly, my free Monday newsletter for people navigating threshold seasons. Subscribe here
