3 In 1

I know, your first thought, some gadget that does three different things or three in one oil or some such thing.

Sorry, it’s none of that.

Look in the mirror, you are only aware of one, but I’m going to ask you to visualize something, then we will move it over to you.

The doorbell rings, you answer the door and a courier is standing there with a beautiful wrapped gift, you are not sure who it’s from, but it is so beautifully wrapped, you are speechless. Now the big decision, shall I open it? Of course, you can’t wait to remove the beautiful wrapping paper, dive inside, find a carton, which you quickly open and find the present that an admirer has sent to you. For the moment you are flabbergasted that someone admires and thinks enough of you to send a gift. What is it? The paper is off, the carton is open and inside is a rough stone, at first you are disappointed, but wait there is a note with it and a picture, you look at the picture and you are amazed, it is a beautiful three carat diamond. The note says this rough stone, when it is cut and polished will look like the enclosed picture.

The journey that you are on is to get to know yourself and how unique and special you are. In the introduction to this blog, the promise was increased productivity, creativity, work/life balance, happiness, love, friends and most of all greater peace with yourself. Each post that is posted will have a gem, and hopefully you can glean your own gem from it, as you travel your path or Camino. When I walked the Camino in Spain, that was not the beginning of my journey, as I mentioned, my journey started in earnest seven years before, so I was becoming familiar with myself and who I could count on, yet there was some doubt, but that walk strengthened my faith in myself. You don’t have to go to Spain and walk the Camino, you are on a journey every day when you get out of bed.

I’m going to relate an incident that I experienced on the Camino in Spain, which has become more of a reality, which I use daily since returning. It was approximately two weeks into my journey, I had covered over four hundred kilometers. I left San Nicolas at 5 a.m. with the intent of walking forty kilometers that day, I was feeling good and thought it would be no problem. I arrived a Sahagun at the break of daylight. Entering Sahagun on my left was a four or five story hotel with a sign that said “Special rates for Pilgrims.” I saw the sign and wanted to stop, I have only walked five kilometers and I want to stop. I resisted the temptation and sort of wandered around Sahagun, feeling extremely tired, it was a cool morning but I was beginning to perspire and it was as if every bone in my body ached. I thought it may be exhaustion, I had been walking for sixteen days. I can’t go on, I have to quit. At this point it was necessary to commune with my Inner Self. It went like this, “you got me here, I can’t do this, you will have to do it for me.” I got back on the trail, walking very slow at first, gradually picking up speed. I walked forty kilometers that day and was less tired than when I left Sahagun earlier that morning, after walking a further thirty-five kilometers.

That experience confirmed, there was more to me than met the eye. I had experienced similar situations before and no doubt you have in your life, when you feel you can’t go on, or there is a situation that seems impossible, then you find you have a strength you didn’t realize you had and you get through it and your journey continues. I know now I have that strength all the time, I just wasn’t drawing from it. I was relying on my outer self. there is more to everyone than meets the eye.

Now, back up to that gift you received that you were able to visualize, now let’s move it over to you. The wrapping paper is your ego, the “I.” The carton the gift is in is “me” your physical body. The gift is “you” your Super Ego. That’s the three in one, although when you look in the mirror you are only aware of one. The gift will no doubt pose a question for you, why an uncut diamond, why not a diamond that is cut and polished. We rely on the wrapping paper most of the time, to move from “I” to “You” is a transition that takes time, we have to grow up in our Inner Self, this gift or present has to be cut and polished. I will expand on this transition in the next post. We don’t always rely on our Inner strength or our Super Ego, if it was given to us cut and polished, we would not appreciate it. We only appreciate and value what we have, when it comes at a cost. Next post “The Eagle.”