I heard someone who had been with hundreds of people on their death beds. Many people, she said, expressed regret at things not done, at choices not taken. None of them expressed regret at what they had done.
That brings me to: refusing to say yes, or more mildly, not saying yes, to something offered, something possible, something that could bring us things of value.
I am thinking of this in relation to the hero’s quest, where at some point there is a call to leave the everyday path. Many refuse the call.
I think of the millions upon millions who did not listen to any tiny part of themselves which told them to say no to the injections.
That is big stuff. Refusing the call also applies to so much small stuff, so many small decisions.
When I think of this in relation to me, what comes to mind is not something momentous. What comes to mind is 2 travel opportunities I turned down in my twenties. I was a flight attendant at the time. We were given the opportunity to go to various amazing places at incredibly low rates. The 2 offers I remember - because these tempted me - are a trip to Russia and a trip to China. Both times I decided: I’ll go another time. Another time never came. I have never been to Russia or China. I don’t have memories I would have had - like of the Great Wall of China, of the people and sights I would have encountered.
What did I do during those times when I would have been in Russia and China? No idea.
I also think of a later different time when I was teaching. I found out about 2 creative writing workshops that attracted me - one easy to get to, in Canada, given in summer - the other far off, in Skyros, Greece, given during the academic year.
Which one shall I go on, I wondered. My quick answer: the easy one, of course. It was the obvious answer.
I was asked the question: why not say yes to both.
That had not occurred to me.
I did what I could to say yes to both. I went to the one in Canada. And I put in a request to the college for a leave of absence for the 2 weeks of the creative writing workshop in Greece, and even a request for educational funding. I was given a yes to both requests: a 2-week leave, plus the maximum possible educational funding.
That workshop turned out to be a turning point event in my life.
All because I said yes to a possibility.
Yet I had almost said no to it, without thinking that I could say yes to both workshops.
Right now, what am I saying yes to? What am I saying no to?
And you, what are you saying yes to? And what are you saying no to?
I have been doing a lot of yes-saying.
I have long spent a lot of time exploring what is going on in the world, trying to understand as well as I can. The banking cartel, the predator cohort, political ponerology. Vital work. Yes, that matters.
I have said yes to creating AWAKE in a World Gone “Woke.” - a group for people awake to what is going on and often frustrated, stuck, feeling powerlessness.
I am also saying yes to the part of me which got me to get a PhD with the major area being Psychology, and also got me to develop my own model of personal development, Full Flourishing, because I couldn’t find any model that seemed adequate. Usually the emphasis is mainly on feeling. But what about thinking? Usually the emphasis is on mindset. But what about the importance of recognizing what is going on? Perhaps most, The Full Flourishing Formula has a simple effective strategy when we get stuck in frustration, anger, fear, overwhelm, despair, when we’re faced with broken family relationships.
Finally, I’m saying yes to the part of myself who writes poetry and songs and loves to share them. I’ve created an online cafe, a hangout space, a meeting place for those pieces as well as idea piece, plus open mic, plus discussion - Zee’s Cafe Cafe.
My sense is that there are riches to be found in my saying yes 3 times over, each time to something quite different, rather than going in any straight line. I am definitely not closing down despite all the turmoil around us.
The proof, I have often heard, is in the pudding. So we will see.
I know I am listening to a strong inner voice that says, go ahead.
I welcome you along on my ongoing journey. Some of you might even want to try AWAKE or the Full Flourishing Formula or Zee’s Cafe Cafe.
I turn again to you. What have you in the past said yes to, and what have you said no to? And then, what choices do you see now? What are you saying yes to? What are you saying no to? Where are you stuck, confused, blocked?
A deep urge in me, an urge I remember from childhood, is to reach and help people. A hope is that the 3 things I am saying yes to benefit many people in these very difficult times, help us live what is happening as well as possible.
Here are my 3 yesses:
Posted March 21, 2023
No one who follows the leading of the Holy Spirit would have taken the injections.
"Enter in through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7:13-14
I believe that Joseph Campbell was a mythologist, and his Hero's Journey teachings are great works that codify the universal journey that most great heroes take.
While I'm not as familiar with The Hero's Journey as I should be, I do realize its profoundness.
That's why, when I saw the title of this article (combined with what we're currently going through), I had to read it.
I am glad that (for the most part) I did say yes--to travel along the road less travelled. Hopefully, I can find an elixir and bring it back to the world.