Sharing the lessons - An Introduction

Stop for a second and ponder this question.

Who, out of the people that appeared in your life, would you like to thank for providing direction, understanding and meaning through word or action?

Before you move on think about this for a few seconds

Now you’ve had a little time to ponder I’d like to welcome you all to my new series of articles entitled ‘Sharing the lessons’ which started out as a 1,000 word post and is developing into a 10,000 plus ongoing ‘living’ epic, which I hope will never be finished.

The initial idea was to give thanks and recognition to a few people for guiding me here to a creative outlet and Community which I love dearly. At the same time acting as a milestone or tribal marker to celebrate my transformation into the new me living my mission of ‘being the change’.

So I sat down and typed out a bullet-pointed list starting with all the people you’d expect – Mother, Father, Gran, Grandad, Partner, Children, Best friends, Uncles, Aunts and Cousins. But while I was working through this list other people began to spring to mind – chance meetings, friends of friends, neighbours, people I’d watched from the window, people I’d seen in the street. This I visualised as a collection of nodes connected by threads – the threads of my spirit connecting with everyone that has acted as a Guide, Guru or Teacher in some way.

When I see the threads unfolding what I'm actually writing is a 'Guide to becoming Damian' and while writing each story and extracting the lessons I’m actually revealing nuggets from the stories of these people that I didn't know were there. Their stories make great reading and act as a 'Blueprint for BEing the Change' too. I hope you enjoy them and accept that everything I’m sharing is the whole Truth, nothing added or embellished to make for better reading.

To ‘Be the Change’ I go through a constant process of reviewing my life and dismantling what I find there. I discard the traits that do not serve my purpose and create the space for the good in me to grow. I compare myself to what I see as good in others and make it my goal to at least match their commitment. Some may say that I’m being to hard on myself but how can I hope to make progress if I don’t push myself – if you wish to strengthen muscles you need to exercise, there’s no quick fix.

Through these stories I’m embarking on a very vulnerable stage of my journey – I’m not only giving you these stories in the hope of guidance – I’m also opening myself wide open. Anger, frustration, violence, over-confidence and arrogance have featured strongly in my past and by meeting key people I’ve learnt than none of them serve me in my constant struggle to be a good person. I guess my whole life has been a struggle for Peace – Peace in myself and Peace in my environment.

I came from a rough area and learnt to be ‘street wise’. Knowing when to talk your way out of a situation and when to throw a punch were either side of a very fine line – running was never an option. I developed a good sense of humour and strong negotiation skills but what I also developed at an early age was the ability to extend my senses and ‘feel’ a situation. Tension could be measured to almost microscopic levels, weaknesses and strengths in other people became instantly apparent and an uncanny ‘spider-sense’ warned me when I was walking into areas with potential danger. In all honesty that sense is tingling a little now but earlier tonight my good friend Slade replied to a comment on his site by saying “Go post something that scares you just a little bit -- but something you hope will be well-received. Best buzz in the world.”

So mote it be.

But that’s just the start and now that I’m inspired I intend to take this a few steps further. I’m not only going to work my way through my list but I’m going to track down the people that are still on this side of the veil and ask them to share THEIR list. I want to work through the connections and unlock the lessons that passed on the magic for them to pass it on to me. Spiritual Genealogy that follows the Spirit-lines not the blood-lines. Genetics may give you the foundations on which the structure is built but it’s the people you meet that provide the interior design of who you are today.

Just imagine the alterations you can make when you’ve unravelled and mapped out the design of what makes YOU.

There’s another step I’d like to take – this time it involves YOU. By finding your way here and by reading this far you’ve already become a part of this story, some of ME has now become YOU. Just as sure as if we were junkies sharing a needle our essences have been forever mixed – but in this case purely for the better, for the Higher Good.

I’m asking for you to share a story. A story of someone who had an effect on you and who you now wish to thank or exorcise – you see it works both ways. You learn from both good and bad - but never indifference. Share your story, bare your Soul, release the pain or invoke the magic of the good – YOUR Choice. This is the Evolution of the meme and the future of the ‘tag’ – lets release it and see where it finds a home.

Guidance

1. 
   
   Post your story on your site, leave it in a comment here or if you don’t have a site contact me and I’ll include you in my ‘Guest Authors’ AND ‘Sharing the Lessons’ Series (2 for 1 offer) by publishing your story on here.
   


2. 
   
   If you do choose to publish on your own Blog or Site could you please include a link back to this article and share some 'Link Love' in recognition for the inspiration.
   


3. 
   
   Pass it forward – let others know about this challenge in whatever way you feel is best. ‘Tread Your Path' your way, don’t let anyone else tell you different.
   


4. 
   
   BE the change – or otherwise nothing will change.
   
   

Much Love,

Damian