Adjust Your Sails To Compensate

When I was a young teenager, I was in the Boy Scouts. A central theme and motto that we practiced was "Be Prepared." Being prepared did not mean having the right tool or equipment to be able to do a task. It meant being able to adjust your heading and make a course correction in order to arrive at your destination. Human beings have the amazing capacity to adapt if they choose to. They can make the choice to be very rigid and hold onto the position like the motorcycle Ryder who doesn't know how to let up on the throttle. If we are not able to make adjustments and find balance along the way. We lose sight of our peace.

There is a very rigid nature among many. The inability to move their stake. They plant it in the dirt and say this real estate is mine. The stubborn individual will refuse to budge in any direction. Often this can become politically motivated in community circles. We see it often in the form of triangulation. A method for manipulating others to come to where your position is.

One important component to understand about adaptability and acceptance. Never allow anyone to pull you into their storm! Listen carefully to the event taking place. Then use critical thinking skills to discern what is your best response to it. We can choose to walk away from any situation if it becomes a toxic environment for us. Learning to walk away when it isn't helping is adjusting your sails. so that you can go in another direction that is good and peaceful for yourself. Self-Care includes the awareness that you are worth more than other people's drama. It is ok to take command of your time and remove yourself from a situation. 

Life is a perpetual rolling out of events that do not always go according to play. To make allowances for change and have the skillset for being adaptable. Will help an individual go far as they do their daily walk, rituals, routines. The Scouts taught me what being prepared was. Being able to use critical thinking skills to look at a situation and recognize it for what it is. To have confidence in the self acknowledging when it is practical to fix the situation or to become adaptable and come up with a new plan. When I went into the Marine Corps, I realized the fullness of the be prepared method. That I was far more capable of doing things that seemed impossible. We all have that capacity within. 

The power of now is living in the moment. Recognizing that we are more okay than we realize. Life throws its curve balls at us. Learn to make a new plan when old ones fall short. Especially if some terrible calamity rolls into your life. Jimmy Dean said, "You can't change the wind, But you can adjust your sails." It is so true and important to understand. I had been dealing with some recidivism with being homeless. It hit me very hard when I had an apartment fire that basically put me out on the streets again. At first, I tried to make it in my busted-up camper. But then the winter crept in and I quickly realized I didn't want to do that again. I had spent a few winters in campers, cabins, and a van. It is a very hard way to live when it is cold out. I had to make adjustments in order to adapt to the situation that I was in.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the writer says that Jesus proclaimed "ask and it will be given to you seek and you shall find it." The author of the book of James later implies that you do not receive because you do not ask. I had decided that I needed to ask the right people the right questions for direction on how to get back on my feet. I reached out to my local Lutheran Social Services Coordinator, she was assigned to me by the Red Cross. Who in turn connected me with the Community Action Coalition and the Veterans Homeless program. Some of this was letting go of pride, but it also was accepting the situation for what it was. Acceptance allows room for recognizing and feeling peace. Peace already exists underneath whatever storm you are going through. It is acceptance and adaptability that invoke peace. Because I had reached out to the appropriate agencies. I was given help to stay in a Hotel room until the V.A. program could help me secure housing. It all played out because I was patient and diligent in following through on the options presented to me.

Worrying about the outcome would have made me stressed out. I would have possibly compromised my immune system and made myself very ill in the process. Instead, I chose to figure out how to make a new plan and implement strategies that worked out in my favor.

Many years ago because of various physical injuries and other medical issues. I became quite ill. Over time I had become wheelchair dependent and had very little strength in my body. It was quite vexing for me. I was a dancer in my youth. This meant that my dancing days were probably over. I had to discover new ways to dance. By adjusting my sails. I learned to play guitar so that I could continue to dance in my spirit.

In the book of Romans, its author is attributed to Paul. He writes about trials and tribulations and long-suffering. That those who make it to the other side of horrible events. Eventually, find and allocate for themselves endurance. Endurance is what allows us to eventually connect with that still small voice and listen to it. It allows the fog of chaos that is surrounding us to dissipate and reveal peace. That is the end result of adaptability during rough times. The ability to recognize that if we hold onto that stake too tight, we just might get blown away by the winds of change. Adaptability during the good and the bad times will get you to close proximity to your destination. A rigid unmovable position will make you stay where you are without any real growth. 

Each one of us has the tremendous potential to adapt to our situations. Yes, there are several stages involved with the grieving process. I completely get that. But the importance is not to stay in those places on the grieving wheel. Give yourself grace and the ability to adapt. You will discover that underneath it all is peace. A peace that already exists. That grace permeates everything around you. You are, Okay.


Further Reading

FAQ - What Is Adaptability?

Adaptability - WiKi

Learn And Grow - What Is Adaptability In The Workplace

The Five Stages Of Grief

Video 

What is Adaptability


Document Updated On March 30, 2022

Document Created On March 29, 2022

 

aj@ajwhitewolf.com