Remember the famous line from the 1984 movie “Ghostbusters”? “Who You Gonna Call?
If you’re seeing things
Running through your head
Who can you call?
(Ghostbusters)
Who you gonna call?
(Ghostbusters)
If you’re all alone
Pick up the phone
And call
(Ghostbusters)
I wish there really was someone like Ghostbusters to call when we were troubled, sad or at a crossroads.
Power through?
“Not so fast,” a therapist would caution.
First FEEL THE FEELING.
Then – and only then – move on.
It seems to me that when we are in liminal space
we need to bask in ruminations,
explore our options
and then proceed forward to consider what we crave:
– New travel adventures?
– A hobby tapping into heretofore unexplored talents?
– More likeminded buddies?
– Closer family relations?
– A firmer, fitter body?
And what are we prepared to sacrifice, modify or change to get there?
It’s about finding something that feeds our essence – that couples our imagination and our intuition – that helps us awaken our deepest yearnings and explore our untapped gifts.
As Seena B. Frost notes in her book Soul Collage, the beauty and value of a hand-crafted life is a life that is consciously assembled from pieces that you yourself select and put together. It’s self-created. It’s not a life pulled off the rack having been put together by others or by our culture. It’s a reminder to chart our own course and then – as I so often say – “Control Our Own Remote.”
That is powerful and somewhat daunting – and yet friends all around me seem to be doing just that:
- I have a friend who spent seven consecutive summers walking the El Camino – stretching over 500 miles of hilly terrain.
- I have a friend who finds grounding in being physically fit and fills her days going to a variety of exercise classes and pickleball games.
- I have a friend who travels to folk schools all over the country learning skills like wood turning, shoe making, and jewelry design.
- I have a friend who fills her days serving on various boards with the sole purpose of making this world and her community a better place to live.
I’m not sure what my path forward is.
I know it entails coming to terms with certain deficits in my life –
giving up getting things that remain unattainable in spite of my best efforts
and moving toward those people who get my essence and spur me on with positivity.
Where do I find consistent meaning and solace and grounding? It’s never really changed. It’s always been there for the taking:
Through discovering new truths,
learning new things,
and traveling to unexplored places.
Through my writing,
my speaking
and my connecting people with other people.
It’s not all under my control, of course. But what is under my control will be directed toward filling my life with what brings joy and meaning to me.
And I won’t have to call Ghostbusters after all
because:
- I’m done coping.
- I’m soaring.
- I’m done ruminating.
- I’m acting.
