Course adjustment to my course adjustment
Then i realize that authenticity is not about a certain path we are taking. It is about being authentic in the moment, sharing how i am torn about this publicly. And accepting that it is okay to chose something conventional – as long as that is a choice!
There is a part of me that remains the observer to my process. That part is fascinated by how this processes is unfolding. Just five days ago, i was convinced that my path lies elsewhere. Now i am embracing that path even if that means taking a 3-hour exam i know does not meet needs on many levels. This observer part wonders what happened. Maybe voicing my concerns freed me to look at this situation differently – once i received an indirect reminder that situations can be viewed differently. Maybe i finally received the recognition and acceptance i so longed for. People were not ostracizing me for considering to drop out, for speaking up. Some were sad and wanted me to reconsider but all supported my decision. And that is where fear comes in: What are they thinking now? Do they think that i submitted to the pressure of the status quo? Will they respect me less? Or will they be angry that i “wasted their time” with my struggling through this?
The observer points out that all that really needs to come from the inside. Self-acceptance. Self-respect. Allowing myself to change my mind. Allowing myself to walk the beaten path if i choose to include it in my spinning of my life. The observer also knows, though, that reassurance from others helps! Hence this blog post… Ultimately, i would like people to understand why i changed course again – with all the caveats and worries i am noticing in myself. And maybe that points to something internal again: Self-understanding. I don’t fully understand my mind change, which leads to yet another worry. If i change my mind like this, will it happen again? It feels like this is a more solid change. It does not feel like a going back to the old course, the one i abandoned on Monday. Superficially, it looks like the same course yet how i approach it, how i feel about it has changed. It is now my path, not a path imposed from the outside. Maybe ultimately this is about accepting what is – accepting that change happens, that we change course – sometimes twice in the same week – and that a change can look like it brings us back to where we started but really is a change!
Share this post with others:
I think it’s really hard to do something different. When we humans do such – or any fellow member of our animal kingdom, for that matter! – we can question if it’s the right thing (I mean, SURELY the beaten track has been beaten for a reason – it must be right!). With our analytical intelligent minds, no doubt humans can question this more than some of our fellow animal species!
I think it’s all trial and error. Philosophy sounds like a fabulous course to do and graduate from, and I think will carry a lot of transferable skills for you and perhaps happy memories too (events that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t done the course). Life is trial and error – we don’t currently have a great model for development (hence global warming, species extinctions, human suicides, wars) – but we’re in some ways in a better place than many years ago (human rights-wise, more aware of issues, for example). So if you try and error and succeed on your own path, that sounds normal. Nothing to worry about, and good for you to get out and explore a little – if you do return to doing something similar to what you were, at least you’ll know you want it. I left the NGO sector for a while, and returned (sigh, now I’m looking to buy my first property I could do with a less-NGO more corporate salary!). But I know the NGO life is more me, despite lots of issues I have with it too.
It could be, you are stressed about finishing your masters, and your stress is trying to reduce itself by proposing “change” options. Maybe not, but it’s one of perhaps many possibilities!
Btw, be glad to know how your singles workshop went – sounded like a great idea.