FLEXIBILITY

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~ as written by Linda Kavelin Popov
Virtues Project Reflection Cards

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MY TWO SENSE:

Another perfect pick! Flexibility is being able to with-stand the circumstances that life provides us and to step outside of ego in order for action to carry itself with Grace. This sounds wonderful to me, a life in action with Grace. It isn't this simple or clearly cut though. Life is complicated when we live outside of ego. To act from our souls desire is often like being a lamb in a wolf den. The soul requires protection within the complicated realities of our modern age and it is vulnerable too, naive even. At first this concept hits like an oxymoron and I ask myself, "how can wisdom be naive?" The answer lays somewhere in-between our hearts and minds. Ego for the most part has created society. Ego and society go hand in hand and believe it is the only important team on the playing-field. Ego has basically denied Soul because that's how society has chosen to educate and operate. 

I believe we have convinced ourselves that ALL the patterns in life are natural ones, even the ones we've created: political patterns; banking patterns; housing patterns; education patterns; market patterns; social patterns; relationship patterns. We are convinced that our modern-way is the best way and the dear people who wear their heart and soul on the surface of their skin are in my opinion, the ones who suffer the most. Victims of circumstance; prisoners in their own skin; strangers in a foreign land. When the Soul is empowered to grow and allowed to thrive in our ego-rich environment, it stands with purity. To the norm, purity stands-out in contrast against the backdrop of our modern world. We can either perceive the Soul driven person as noble and martyr-like, or as weak and ignorant. Like adults who view children "...to be seen and not heard", our social reality has assumed the role of the all-knowing adult who doesn't trust that the child has anything important to contribute and the soul is denied its rightful place. 

Judgement can happen in an instant and be based in what we perceive to be important, like academia vs. life experience. This is where the bridge breaks and the two realities divide. The Ego has created and adopted our reality as it's truth and it is simply untrue. The Soul is not at home here in the reality Ego has manifested, not yet. In this land, the soul is almost a stranger and in some instances it poses a threat to the structure we have convinced ourselves to trust. In order for the Ego/Soul to grow as one, flexibility encourages the bridging of both worlds. I am presenting this Ego vs. Soul concept with a mellow-dramatic tone and twist because I recently endured a direct assault on my Soul. Writing is a healthy platform and a way to process what happened between ego and soul. You see, the topic of politics came up, and I am mindfully, blissfully, ignorant in this department so when my views came up short and I formed no solid opinion of the current issues, the egos of my company kicked into high gear. My Soul was exposed. The questioning began as innocently as any question but what happened from there is simply down to ego. 

From the outside, it appeared like the ramping-up of any other discussion but on the inside, it truly felt like a witch-hunt. I felt dragged out into the street, ripped of my clothes and tied naked to the stake. The kicker is, I lit the fire myself. I believe that our Soul can become faint through years of denial and neglect, which enables a "dumbing down" effect. That is exactly what Ego wants. Here my friends, is a perfect opportunity for flexibility to exist - a bridge to understanding. It is so helpful for my Soul to recognize that judgement is all around us and thrives in the ego mind. Ego loves to criticize and lourde it's assumed power over the pack, that's how it has played the game for centuries. Power is not strength and Ego is not the all mighty ruler. We've unknowingly denied ourselves the better half of who we truly are. Flexibility enables me to become the best of both worlds.