Zombies have been made popular in our day and age by television programs like The Walking Dead and movies like World War Z. These stories blamed the coming of age of zombies on some kind of biological accident or plague that was unleashed on the world.
I believe we have had zombies in our midst, but I don’t think a virus created them; they are people who lost their interest in life, and that happened long before the time of this pandemic.
I see dead people
This is the confession young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) makes to Doctor Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) in the movie, The Sixth Sense.
I see dead people too, but not the ghosts with unresolved issues that appeared in the shadows to the young boy in this 1999 Oscar nominated movie, they are in everyday life. I know well, for I have been one of them.
How does one lose their way?
Author Roy T. Bennett states,
“If you’re curious, there is always something new to be discovered in the backdrop of your daily life.”
The soul decays when you begin to lose your sense of adventure and curiosity. If this situation persists, your soul dies and you become a conscious cadaver. You join the ranks of the walking dead. You stop trying.
You see walking dead, too. There is the guy in the office who hates his job but is too afraid to seek employment elsewhere. Or the wife in an abusive marriage who is frightened to venture out on her own. Settling for the things we no longer want but don’t release because we are afraid of change is a way to kill curiosity. So too is the search for comfort and security one finds in establishing routine. These are the wants of the ego who relies solely on what it judges about your life.
I am not minimizing the suffering people are experiencing today, nor am I criticizing anyone who wants to hang on to the familiar. This is a lesson I am still learning, for the loss of my daily routine and connections has left me feeling very anxious and insecure about my future. I have a lot of work to do again. Others are losing much more than I, and my heart goes out to them in love and support. But deep down inside, I know this disruption, however painful, is our opportunity to allow our Higher Self to shine his/her wisdom on us.
This much I know, the ego does not want you to risk or open yourself up to new knowledge and experiences because he/she sees it as an unnecessary risk. But the ego is just the grouping of ideas you formed about yourself based on your childhood experiences. You are an adult now, and you can change these ideas. And change you must, for the soul is our connection to the Higher Consciousness where everything comes from. This Superior Being or God is always learning, creating, exploring and changing. When you use your free will to stop pursuing new experiences and awareness in your life, you plug your connection to this Higher Power. You die inside.
We build ships to sail them on the high seas, not to keep them safe in the harbor
“You were made with wings.” Rumi
You are unique. The Creator of all things gave you the skills to explore and discover the treasures of life, not to hide behind comfort and security. There are no real formulas or rules for life except the ones you make. No one else is like you. Yes, this is a difficult time, and we all long to return to what was normal, but that is not going to happen. We all are having to forge a new path.
The pages of your story wait for you to write them, but you will not do so if you cling to the safety and comfort that was so predictable in the past. You must return to the time you thought yourself an adventurer and a seeker. It is time to leave the safe harbor and set sail for a new world.
Remember, paying gratitude for your life forward will reward you with a great measure of joy and contentment.
Photo by Oliver Sjöström on Unsplash
