Things You’ve Never Seen

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The other night me and Kenny were watching a movie wherein there was an “older wiser” character and archetype that was training and mentoring a gifted (and magical) young man archetype on how to fly his dragon.

There was this one scene in the movie where the old man is recounting the horrible things he has seen and how the young man needs to be afraid and restrained and do things his way if he wants to stay safe, and then he looked at the young man with a gruff and somber expression and said with all possible drama: “I’ve seen things you couldn’t imagine.”

To which Kenny said to the tv: “and maybe he’s imagined things you’ve never seen.”

BOOM! I instantly cheered because it was SO spot on. The old man’s seen things the young man couldn’t imagine, and the young man’s imagined things the old man hasn’t yet seen. 

I think we have all been in conversations like these in our lives, whether with a family member or friend, or just in our own head between these two sides of ourselves. And it is certainly the theme of many many thousands of books and movies.

The conversation where one side is telling you that the world is horrible and scary and you should act accordingly to make yourself safe, and the other side is full of hope and fresh ideas and wants to try new things and find more freedom from what has been.

One side is trying to squash the hopeful dreamer “for its own good”, to protect it from disappointment and harm, and the other side is trying to open to ways that have previously been unseen and thus create change, and new ways of being, for itself and for future generations.

One side is painted as wise, experienced, and all-knowing, and the other side is painted as foolish and naive and only dreaming. And the thing is, this scene, in every movie and book that it is in, is basically just illustrating the process of the evolution of human consciousness and of life as we know it!

What I mean by that is, there is what has been, and what will be. We can take things we have learned from what has been, yes, but it should not stop us from reaching beyond that into what will be. That is how all of us have arrived HERE to this very spot we are in as human beings!

You wanna know who else was a naive, foolish, dreamer?? EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. WHO EVER THOUGHT OF, INVENTED, OR BROUGHT SOMETHING NEW AND DIFFERENT TO THIS WORLD that then went on to benefit ALL OF HUMANKIND.

This includes everything from things like airplanes, lightbulbs, water from the tap, and refrigeration, to ideas that led to social change and greater freedoms and equality for all beings, to ideas and new creations that make survival and thrivingeasier now than it has ever been at any other time in human history, to artworks and stories that enrich and change peoples lives. 

Every single one of those things, and every single thing in between, were all steps on this latter of the ever-evolving-consciousness that we ARE.

Even if that “new thing” created was simply an easier way to do things and an easier way to experience life. Like the countless humans over thousands of years of our history in every job and field across the board from farming to manufacturing to home maintenance, who were just doing their jobs one day and then said “hey, you know what, I think this could be way easier if instead of doing this, I did this instead.”  And when they did that, and it worked, others followed, and it changed life on the planet as we know it.

In a simple attempt to make their OWN lives easier, they made life easier for all of humankind.

When Kenny said “maybe he’s imagined things you’ve never seen” – he said it with a very calm matter-of-factness, not with anger or defiance towards what the old man said, just with the added acknowledgement that what we imagine COULD BE is just as vital a part of the equation as what has come before.

It is not that the ‘older wiser’ archetype has no value, on the contrary! But it is ALSO not that the ‘naive dreamer’ archetype has no value either. Naivety is REQUIRED to create something new in this world. Please read that again and really take it in.

It is not “maybe part of the process” it IS the process, it is 100% required. New experience, new circumstances, new creations in this world, by their very definition have not been done before, or not done in that particular way you’re trying to do it, and so… you are REQUIRED to be naive, in that you CANNOT know everything about that, or how it’s going to play out just yet.

There are those who play by the rules of what’s been (the old man), and there are those who make their own rules and create what will be (the young man). BOTH are valuable. BOTH are required. BOTH are part of all of us. BOTH should be honored and embraced.

But if you’re trying to create something new in this world, even if that’s just a new way of doing things for yourself and a new way of being in the world for yourself, it would behoove you to not seek the advice of those who stay strictly within the lines of what’s been done.

And likewise, if you want to achieve or do something that you’ve seen someone do, in that exact same way, then by all means DO seek out those who teach and mentor on what’s been done and what works for them.

One is not more valuable than the other. You just have to figure out who are. Are you more a visionary type? Do you feel absolutely compelled to go your own way and blaze your own trail in life for some reason? 

I have heard a lot of people in the personal development field say that that tendency is a self-sabotage, that you’re just making it harder for yourself and more complicated than it needs to be, and that you must be punishing yourself on some level if that is the case.

Could be. 

Or it could be the call of my soul to create what I am here to create in this world, for myself and for all beings it will touch through that ripple I create, and that that thing really IS different and is MEANT to be different, and that that causes me to be someone who teaches others to trust THEMSELVES, instead of to trust “my way”. 

Someone who helps visionaries become more of the visionaries they already are, by speaking more about trusting yourself, your timing and your journey, your inclinations, your preferences, and your way.

What’s funny is that it’s usually visionary types who already HAVE created something totally new who often say that it’s a self-sabotage. 

Perhaps because they’ve found what works for them, and are now teaching it, they have forgotten that there was a stage in their journey as a visionary when they had to believe and trust only in themselves and their very different vision at the time to be able to get where they are today. And now they have shifted the value to “what works” and perhaps forgotten the incredible VALUE of all the stumbling in the dark they had to do for themselves, in learning to trust themselves, and love themselves through the process of believing they could do it differently.

The truth is we are all teaching and mentoring eachother ALL THE TIME, whether we are doing that for a living or not. That’s what we do as human souls in relationship to eachother. All of those teachings have value, whether we’re learning what we want to be, or what we don’t want to be.

But the work of our lives is in learning to listen to, trust, and honor our own path and our own heart and souls timing. There’s not a script for that. It requires embracing the unknown. It requires stepping out and over uncomfortable ledges alone sometimes, even if you’re surrounded in loving support, there is no one who can be with you in those tender moments of braving the unknown because you are the only one who knows your vision in precisely the way that you do. So you’re the only one who can make it come true.

So if you are someone who feels that call, it’s what you’re here to do.

We all want someone to just tell us what to do, to just tell us what’s right and what will get us there the fastest, and while people can certainly help guide you, no one can tell you EXACTLY how to get to the utterly unique life creation that is yours! That is something only YOU and the imprint of your soul knows. And it is something only YOU are here to discover.

So seek mentors and teachers who help you to trust yourself above all, first and foremost, even them. And be aware when others are trying to tell you “how things are” or have been as if that’s the only option, and how they’ll always be. 

Visionaries don’t need more training in what has been, we’re all full up where that’s concerned. Visionaries need to make space for the imagination and free their hearts and souls from fearful suppression, so they can create what will be NEXT.

And as always, if you need help with that, you know where to find me »

P.S. In the movie, the old man gave the young man the foundation of his prior experience, which helped him, and the young man took that foundation and learned to fly in his own way, a way that was beyond what the old man had seen or could believe was possible in his time. That is what human consciousness does!  It learns, it creates, and it passes the baton. Knowing that what it has learned and created, is not what is going to be re-created, but what is going to be built-upon, to create something completely brand new. And on and on it goes. 

How absolutely beautiful is that?  ❤