Values and Actions and the Abyss In-between

I teach in my workshops the importance of checking in with yourself as your needs for balance are always evolving, and a student challenged me a few weeks ago to “take my own workshop”. I accepted the challenge, in that I went through the exercises I ask my students to do. Perhaps because I live with this content everyday as I teach and write about the subject, it’s easy to stay in my head about it and disconnect from the heart/emotional struggle that roots our actions and values and keeps many people spinning out of control.

It’s very easy to conduct my workshops and advise audiences about the importance of aligning their values to their actions. I have many stories from my past that I can pull from to talk about the struggles I’ve had that come from acknowledging what is important to me, realizing I’m not on a path to achieve it, and staring at the empty abyss that appears between my vision and my reality. In “taking my own workshop” I have a renewed appreciation and respect for my audience in asking them to take this inventory and consider jumping into the dark scary abyss in-between.

I was reminded that it takes a great deal of courage to change a course of action, especially when the path has been laid out for many years in some cases. It takes strength and humility to examine one’s life and acknowledge, perhaps there are disconnects between our words and actions. It takes even more guts to change behaviors and communicate to the ones you love what’s not working for you and what you want to do about it.

Seeing my content again through my students’ eyes, I’m reminded that once you see your actions are not in alignment with your values you cannot “unsee” it. But seeing “it” is no guarantee you will take action, it only means that you now know you are part of the problem as much as you are part of the solution. In the sea of the in-between abyss the choice to act on your awareness is what makes the difference between those who ultimately sink or swim. The good news is every day is a new opportunity to sink or swim, and I’m grateful to my students that they continue to challenge me to keep swimming, seeing and evolving on my own journey for balance.