I don’t have to tell you what this sign was originally for, it is kind of self explanatory, but if this blog is read a few years in the future, well people were “instructed” through signage what to do when a particular illness was around. And of course human beings were not trusted to do the right thing so stickers were added on the walkway to remind them, made no difference, but still, instruction was needed. It is interesting how risk management is not really taught in schools, but then we are blamed for not being very good at assessing risk any more as humans.
Anywhoo, I felt this was an appropriate image to use today because somehow when it comes to the exploration of self, or when it comes to overcoming issues related to our personal histories, we tend to do a very similar thing. We are not being told we need to stay away from our trauma, or our emotional hurt, or from a bad love experience, or any other experience, but we somehow do. As human beings we are relatively good at trying not to acknowledge what is actually happening to us, and we distance ourselves from things in the hope that we will be protected. We put gates around the fire with a sign saying “careful it burns hot”, we put signs on the plastic cups that should hold hot liquid “careful it contains not liquid”, and then there was that tide pod thing in 2019. And yet as a species we still haven’t learnt to take the information, sift it through our system, keep what is relevant and useful to survive and ditch what is not. Somehow we try to stay away from the actual experience in the hope that it will protect. And does it? If you stood 2 meters away or you stood on the dot, did it prevent you from being hurt? By not doing something, did it enhance your life, or did you feel regret for not trying things? Experiencing a potential rejection from a person you had a crush on, was it worse, than the regret of knowing that perhaps it could have been a yes rather than a no?
And yes, sometimes keeping your distance is indeed the right thing to do. The wisdom I am trying to convey is, being able to tell the difference. Being able to recognise when “standing behind the yellow line” is helpful and conveys safety is important ( “stand behind the yellow line – check in your favourite search engine for the story).
Knowing yourself well, knowing what is safe for you, knowing what is acceptable for you – is the key. Not all signs can be generalised across all people, not all symptoms are the same for all people, not all treatments are effective for everyone, so discerning what is ok for you takes time, takes understanding, takes a lot of self knowledge.
With only 6 post left for this 365 day challenge, I am trying to encourage YOU my dear reader to engage in that self reflection. I am trying to invite you to explore if the “2m rule” applies, I want to invite you to introspect and decide is it worth “standing behind the yellow line.”
Time to take out your diary and take some notes when answering the questions.
Conscious Mentorship
If you would like to explore thing further, why not book with me and allow me to help you find your path to self.
