A very good friend of mine relates this phrase to me om a regular basis. And it is does reflect the situations we get ourselves into from time to time.
We have referred frequently to the environment we live in or allow ourselves to be besotted by.
We are often in a situation where there is so much going on that we could just stop and scream for 10 minutes.
So often we start our day or a project with clear goals and a vision of how the day or project will turn out.
We insist we have a clear goal – a clear reason – for the project and the outcome we require. It is noble. It is useful. It is needed. It will help many others. It will keep us focused for the day.
Then – as if chaos is specifically invited – our focus is diverted. The world begins to take over our focus and we are begin to follow a different path.
We are adding extra ideas to our project by listening to the noise (opinions, expert comments, motherhood statements with no basis in logic) and become distracted by adding other people’s influence to OUR PROJECT.
The dry bed of our original project – the noble dry bed – is becoming invaded by swamp water and eventually attracts crocodiles – foreign ideas.
Ideas which become bigger that our original PROJECT.
We use our energy and focus to deal with these at the expense of our own Noble Project.
If we sit and consider how the many current crises have developed through division, fear, panic, anxiety, 24/7 media coverage, daily expert opinions – in the areas of Climate Change, Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter, MeToo#, Reconciliation and COVID – it is no wonder we have a SWAMP with Crocodiles.
Your dry bed of productivity and getting on with your daily life has been invaded by all the above – if you have allowed it (that is). And it is difficult to avoid this continual stream of basically misery and anger and fear.
Whatever the good or bad, right or wrong, best or worst of the ideas and emotions poured forth from these movements – they have indeed caused enormous suffering, anxiety, panic, mental instability, reduced social contact and untold financial ruin.
Leadership has been basically invisible. Leadership should bring purpose, hope, unity, comfort, direction, a pathway through the swamp, empathy and basic respect to all (despite varying opinions and decisions made).
But it hasn’t. And I doubt if it will any time soon.
In fact, on a daily basis more and more Australians are pitted against each other – no jab no job, vaxxer versus anti-vaxxer, coal versus solar and wind, emissions targets, nuclear or no nuclear.
There is really very little logic or balanced debate to actually make sense of any of these ideas.
Ideas that affect us all as a Nation and as we navigate this Century.
HOWEVER, WHAT WE EACH CAN DO IS CREATE A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS.
WE CAN DRAIN OUR OWN SWAMP AND HELP OTHERS DRAIN THEIRS.
You can be a Magician – a Change Agent in your daily life.
You can uplift or deflate yourselves and others.
You can wave and smile to people you pass, meet or drive by – and the chances are – they will return the wave and the smile to you.
It will feel like you have a super power – by bringing warmth and joy to others and to yourself.
We can bring abundance, joy, kindness, humour, optimism and keep the SWAMP dry.
Or can bring pessimism, anger, scarcity, grumpiness, whinging, fear, joylessness and fill the SWAMP and add Crocodiles as well.
We have the power to change environments by every email, text, smile, word, action.
We can lift people up or put them down.
We are almost God-like in being able to bend people around us.
For if the negative forces can bring scarcity and negativity – we can bring abundance and positivity.
AIM FOR THIS WEEK – spend the day being a magician and bring joy and abundance to others
I suggest you activate this lighting rod in every situation you enter – be a Magician!!!
Smile wave talk nicely be kind, be respectful, be patient, be tolerant..
Focus everyone’s attention on what is positive, possible and wonderful about all the things you are working on together
Watch people light up. Count the number of people you can bring joy and make smile today.
DRAIN THE SWAMP, REMOVE THE CROCODILES and bring light and joy to as many people as possible.
