Old maps

When we decided to have our first baby, we had $2000 in our account, 1 way tickets to Bali and no foreseeable work. My pre-baby life checklist, that i’d crafted over years and years had no green ticks, basically none of my parent pre-requisites were accomplished. I didn’t have a house or a job which were the two big ones on my list. Without these two things checked off, I believed that having a baby would be a full blow out, a life ruiner, a catastrophe that would be impossible to recover from. This was some of the outdated conditioning that I was dealing with when a desire to become a dad bubbled up into my awareness. 

My mind was a battle field, deep desire vs old school beliefs. This was one of the greatest battles I’ve fought so far. Years of meditating had geared me up to face the enemy and I was able to fearlessly enter unknown terrain, a new map and no plan, innocently charging into battle to fight for the life I wanted to live. It’s one of my most memorable victories. The result being my first son Ziggy.

I’ve shared this story with a few people that I’ve introduced to meditation as an example of how a daily practice weakens our conditioning. These ancient techniques systematically sort out the moth-eaten thought patterns that stink up our minds, serving no purpose other than limitation. By shedding light on these structures of the mind they lose their power, allowing us to take action and cast them out. 

These check lists of what we think we can and can’t do sit in our psyche like outdated GPS systems, feeding us inaccurate information of the terrain. They don’t show any of the shortcuts, scenic routes or modern infrastructure, only old roads that have been there for an eternity. We need to update the map and realise the opportunity that surrounds us, the old roads are often dead ends, overgrown wastelands of rubble and decay. The new maps show us that there are many ways to get to where we want and allow us to explore life in a way we never thought possible. 

A baby arriving in my mind at that time in my life came as an unforeseen opportunity to change the direction my life was heading, there was resistance and fear but beneath both of these was courage to follow charm. It has lead me down the most magical road yet, the best thing that has ever happened to me.