Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Are You A Sheep, A Shepherd Or A Dog?

38-wyuna-station-sheep-muster

If it’s one thing that the recent uprisings in the Middle East have
taught us it should be the shocking price individuals and society pay
for fear.

Perceived power rules the world.


Perceived. In reality individuals such as Mubarack or Gaddafi or even
John Key started out with no more or less power than anyone else.
Gradually they assert leadership, gather authority over others and
create power structures with money, armies and political regulation.

We, the sheep, go along with things and take our instruction from the
shepherd and the dogs he employs to bark at us. In reality, if the
sheep get organised, they could easily roll the shepherd and trample
the dog but our individual fear keeps us running. And it's often not
in the direction we want to go.

After watching the uprisings and the terrible scenes from Christchurch
it has made me think about how important it is to really get into life
and not let perceived power stop me from doing things. Some of the
things I asked myself were:

What am I afraid of?


Who am I afraid of?


Who or what is asserting authority over my life that is causing me fear?


Who are the people speaking fearful words or warnings into my life? Is
it useful or is it holding me back?


Where could I be using my power more effectively to change things? Am
I a sheep, a shepherd or a dog?


Tony Robbins uses the phrase “design your life or someone will design
it for you” and I’ve found the process of pondering and consciously
removing the sources of fear and perceived authority quite
fascinating. It’s made me realise how much power I have and how much
energy I waste being afraid of silly things and letting people impose
their fears on to me.

Staring down power structures is strangely, empowering, and it's
energised me to kick down a few doors, laugh at a few people and laugh
at myself.

Give it a go. If the shepherd doesn't have your best interests in
mind, ignore him and his barking dog.

Posted via email from cjlambert's posterous

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