How many Icebergs will you meet and encounter today?
Wouldn’t life be much easier and simpler if we were almost the same – especially if everyone else was more like you or me?
Wouldn’t it make the days much more enjoyable, stress free and uncomplicated? We wouldn’t have to worry about being patient, kind, respectful, calm or honest and so on.
We wouldn’t have to make allowances for the feelings or situations or fears or to do lists or family or health issues of others.
Wouldn’t it be great if the traffic lights turned green just for you or me – when we needed – and let the others wait?
Wouldn’t it be great if you or I could “turn off” Gravity when we fell from a ladder – so we could save ourselves from an injury?
All of these “wishes” come – apart from being completely unrealistic – with consequences. If we turned off Gravity – for example – the whole world would no longer function.
Life is not like this. Life was never meant to be like this. Life will never be like this.
For our life to have meaning and purpose it must come with challenges, suffering, discomfort, interaction with others and pitting ourselves against all that nature and people throw at or help us with.
We cannot build our muscle of Purpose and Achievement without some friction, some learning, some discipline and some social, physical and spiritual interactions.
Life requires the practice of the Virtues of Character and becoming better tomorrow than we were today.
At least 80% of an ICEBERG is under the water. We only see 20% at the most.
It is the same with every human being. We see in others or reveal of ourselves very little at first glance. We could be happy, excited, angry, impatient, rude or joyful to others – while the other hidden 80% could be in a completely different state of mind.
What the ICEBERG underneath our skin doesn’t show is what is really powering our subconscious (our Hairy Harry). Someone could have just had a terminal health diagnosis or another may be completely upset about a sore toe. Both could act in a very similar distressed way.
What bubbles below the surface could be – health, time management, meeting targets, shuffling around the daily schedule, lack of sleep, lack of money, financial decisions, helping a friend in need, rejections of work or trouble with close family.
There could be a 1000 things going on inside each of us – but each of us can only see what is front of us and how each person (Iceberg) behaves and connects.
Yes it would be great if every other Iceberg was the same as you or me – but would it make life more easy, more happy, more fulfilling, more exciting or more peaceful?
No because our own Iceberg is also 80% under our skin. And our emotions, our thoughts, our fears and our dreams – all fester and generate inside us. And they need to be fulfilled.
Over the past 50 years I have served 1000’s of people who had colds, flu’s, skin rashes, eye problems and more. It was great when all the symptoms fitted the criteria which allowed me to suggest one or two items to solve the challenge.
However, there were many with different symptoms or had medication allergies or interactions.
These were the times I would go – “Darn! This is not so simple!”
However it was by asking more questions and needing to find other solutions that expanded not only my knowledge of products – but I learnt much more about the person I was serving.
I learnt more about the 80% of the hidden Iceberg.
The differences in each of us make us unique and extraordinary. To think that each of us has – inside ourselves – the choice and the ability to achieve, to influence others, to lead others to where they would never believe that could go.
To have the choice to improve how we connect to others with kindness, respect, honesty, loyalty, joyfulness, patience, calmness, confidence, discipline, accountability, responsibility and Integrity – is an amazing gift of possibilities.
This could never be – if everyone else was like you or me.
So how many ICEBERGS will you encounter today, tomorrow and in the future?
And when you interact – will you act with the appropriate Character Virtue of Love – and perhaps try to understand that how someone behaves is not necessarily aimed at us or even meant to upset us.
Let us try to allow for what may be going on under their Iceberg.
The vast majority of people are doing the best they can on a daily basis. Each person has their own internal and external struggles and joys.
Look for the best and in turn improve your own ICEBERG to become more peaceful, calm, wise, patient, playful and a better role model to the other Icebergs you encounter – day to day.
