At some point in life each of us is faced with the impossible situation. The situation where everything is wrong. Nothing is right. And you have no choices but to do the wrong thing. That’s pretty much life on earth, every day. Though once in awhile those wrong choices have awful consequences. Or maybe all the consequences are awful. That in moving to the right and moving to the left, going up or going down, reflecting or dodging all cause a bad outcome. That life and the present situation gives us no choices as to selecting the good option because it simply isn’t available.
When I enlisted in the Air force our chief exam was called the ASVAB. I scored well on the ASVAB as I listened to the sage advice and wisdom those who prepared me for this test bestowed upon me. They told me, never leave an answer blank. Always put any answer and if nothing else, get the job done. Even if it was wrong, you had a shot at being right if you did something as opposed to doing nothing. The second thing they taught me was when I just didn’t know an answer select “C”. I don’t remember the why, I just remember the “C”. The last thing they told me before I took the test was that if all the answers were wrong, I was in position to select the least worst answer. The one that would cause the least damage in the arena of the wrong answer that the least worst is the correct answer on the test. At times we’re presented with the impossible scenario. Recently I had to face the impossible. In a cottage, on a remote island, during a crippling snowstorm with the power out. I won’t go into the details of what happened, but let’s just say that it involved other people. Other people misbehaved and hijacked what would have been and what started out as a fun adventure. It was hijacked so badly that my husband and I retreated to our room for the rest of the day. It was the least worst thing we could do. I don’t normally retreat from a fight. I do not typically back down. For me to back down in a fight, I know that the odds are forever in my favor and the other party is simply out of hand. As a trained security specialist in the Air force I have combat training that pales to what civilian forces receive. And she… was a weak old civilian. Who didn’t deserve me breaking my foot off up her ass. She didn’t deserve a beat down from a young airman. She did not. I did not train to kick my elder’s ass. I did not train to subdue your mom at breakfast. That’s not what I trained for. Not even a little bit. Once during my training my STI was riding me particularly hard about my fellow airmen. I was a squad leader for our barracks and wore a yellow rope to signify this elevated position. However, in the barracks I was assigned I was expected to report back to my STI all the shenanigans my fellow airmen were engaging in. they actively expected me to snitch on my newly aquired friends. It solidly went against the unity I was expecting to find in the usaf. Solid. So I removed my rope, placed it on her desk and said “that’s not what I came here to do.” And I retreated. If the fight is not the fight you signed up for…. Retreat. Don’t retreat from the fight you are assigned. Do not retreat from that which you know you are called. There you should be making advances. They do not have to be loud, grand or sweeping advances. I advance like water. Slow, strong, steady, constant. When I am faced with the impossible scenario, I simply make an adjustment but I do not advance in a traditional manner. I may go back, go around or simply disengage. At times I retreat loudly announcing my retreat. Other times, I simply step back silently saying nothing. But when I retreat, it doesn’t mean I quit on you entirely. I just quit the situation. I quit the no win scenario that isn’t serving anyone by my continued participation. The thing to realized is, when I retreat, I take my energy with me when I go. I have phenomenal creator energy that allows me to flourish wherever I put my focus and energy. And I’ve been a witness to seeing a thing I created crumble when I pull my energy away. I see the effect I have on a place and the after affect I also have after I retreated. Realize that the impossible situation is a test of energy. Will you continue to lend your energy to chaos? Or will you retreat to create calm? The choice is very often ours and ours alone to make.
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AuthorMarihemp is presently owner/baker/farmer at Cloverleaf Farms in Door County, Wisconsin. Archives
January 2023
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