Page 21 - Sonoma County Gazette MARCH 2020

The Achievement Gap
By Mo McElroy
For a heartbeat of a week, I
h h a av v e e n n o o e e l l e e c c t t r r o o n n i i c c c c a a l l e e n n d d a a r r r r e e m m i i n n d d e e r
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prompting me to update my life, projects, medical appointments, grocery list.
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I do have a paper list getting quite lengthy with the New Year plans that include making time with friends and Grandboy Lou, going on a trip, winterizing my RV, and filling in more lines.
I pull a book from my shelf called Miracle Morning, hoping to get inspired to make more of my days. If
n o o n n l ly y I I c c o o u u l ld d b b e e a aw wa a k k e e e e a a r rl l i i e e r r t t o o f f i i l l l l i i n
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e m m i i n nu ut t e e s s w w i it t h h p p o o s s i it t i iv ve e a ac c t t i io o n n s s! ! M M a ay y b b e
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would bring me closer to my goals and aspirations.
And then it dawns on me that the words “bring me closer” confirms my crappy perception that I must be far away from them, and the image of the Grand Canyon fills the screen of my ambitions. The author reveals the Gap- Focus Syndrome!
My inner cynical narrator says her lines right on cue.
“ Where is your vision board? What is your affirmation? You suck at follow up. If you aspire to more important things, you must work harder and keep your commitments, and you won’t, so you are setting yourself up for a nightmare of an achievement gap. Your tombstone will say Here lies Maureen buried under the burden of her potential.”
I’m so exhausted from one miracle morning. I brew another pot of coffee and try for a mind reset. I flip back through my 2019 journal to remind myself of how the year rolled out.
And guess what? It was chock full of grace, serendipity, unplanned wonder, and wise words found in the dozen books I took time to read. On the March 17 page, I had copied a drawing of a man with no head and re-read the words from the author Arkan Lushwala explaining the way of the Lakota.
“Communication among the people remained simple without much need to over-explain or over-analyze anything. They would figure out from the start how something would end. The Lakota maintained a heart-centered and spiritually guided culture, and the methodology of the heart is simple. You feel something from a place deep within and let this knowledge guide your actions without hesitation or doubt.
Our mind can serve as a basket of obstacles that constantly blocks the circulation of Light. One may want to be compassionate with others, help heal the environment, but if the mind isn’t a well- built temple, wisdom cannot flow through it.
Getting away from our habitual mental and emotional frequencies is already the creation of change. As our mind moves into unknown territory, our understanding naturally expands and becomes able to make a discovery like an open-minded child. Man beheaded himself to become wise.
Inside every human exists an undomesticated wild creature, a fierce protector of life with a tender heart wisely disguised as a lady or gentleman.
I read these gorgeous words, sip my brew, and feel the gap closing between my head and my heart ever so sweetly. I take a sweet deep breath, smile, and know that the coming year can be full of discovery, one unplanned moment at a time.
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