Mr. Phelps got me thinking: it’s pretty damn hard to redefine yourself after you’ve gotten so used to defining yourself a certain way. Mr. Phelps woke up one day, and some pretty important things about his life had changed. Poof. Just like that: different.
What I heard from Mr. Phelps was a sincere and profound question: now what? No kidding, brother. No what?
See, I’m just like Mr. Phelps; I woke up one day, and some pretty important things about my life had changed. It was pretty disconcerting. So, I went about my life, just like I did the day before, came home, had dinner, showered, went to bed, and let the whole thing start all over again. Then I did that the next day. And the next. And the next. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Do you know what happened?
Abso-honkin’-lutely nothing, that’s what. Nada. Zilch. Nothing happened. It went on and on and on.
One day, I woke up and things were really different, honestly different. I woke up and realized that I’d had enough. No more zombie. I couldn’t do it any more. So, instead, I became miserable. I was conscious but not conscious, you know? It’s like I was aware of something uncomfortable on my chair but unwilling to stand up to do anything about it.
Now, I’m doing. I’m doing, yet I’m still dragging my ass around wearing a frown and feeling sorry for myself. I got caught in another damn rut. Actually, it was more like…a trench…yeah, like a trench between two hills on a battlefield. I got stuck between the charge down one hill and the charge up the next. It was like…oh, I don’t know…maybe a DIP, Seth? Something like that?
Yeah, well, tonight, my son told me he was worried about me because I’ve seemed so grumpy lately. Worse, he’s afraid for me because I’ve seemed “so sad or something for a really long time.” Yes, son. You’re father isn’t entirely satisfied with himself right now. There’s no question about that. But, do you know what I told my boy? I promised him that I was honestly, truly working on things right now to change that. I promised him, PROMISED HIM, that I will create a way out of the dip and up into something different.
“Do you promise, Dad?” he asked.
“I promise.”
So, Mr. Phelps, tomorrow is a new day just waiting for you to define yourself however you choose. Be bold, my friend; have courage. You who you are meant to be. You aren’t a different man than you were yesterday, not yet at least. But…you can be. Just think of all the space you have in your life now to write a completely new and different tune. Go for it. I hope I get to hear about it.
Illuminate Possibilities 