“It’s just a rock,” the young Princess Dot tells Flick. To Flick, the rock was is a representation of a seed that contains all of the building blocks that are already inside of us that just needed to be nurtured. Over time that seed to which Flick was referring will grow into something amazing like an oak tree. Flick never landed the plane so to speak, to Dot the rock will forever be a rock and Flick will forever be eccentric. Are you a Dot or a Flick?
The Dreamer
Flick is out there. He is a dreamer, a starry-eyed, “We can do this” kind of guy, unhinged from reality. He thinks he can change the world. He sees warriors in a bunch of has-been circus performers and is willing to risk it all, even the lives of those around him, rather than accept his place in his society’s created order. He lives his life covering his tracks with half-truths and “What if’s”instead of coming to grips with what is fact and what is fiction. Much to our dismay, we all have a Flick in our lives.
What would Flick do with a bucket of rocks? Would he just lug them around, complaining about his stiff back, or would he try to make something useful out of them? My guess he is your go-to guy if someone delivered a truck-load of lemons to your door. As much as we hate to admit it, we all need a Flick in our lives.
The Princess
Her assessment of Flick was summed up in two words, “You’re weird.” Dot is the impressionable mind, too inexperienced to see threats that are real, too enamored with a future that awaits, confident that it will be free from challenges and strife. She lives in a bubble, a community of kindred spirits, consumed with her iPhone and Instagram.
She represents that teenager living in our house and his or her friends that reside in their orbit. They take life as it comes, never thinking too deeply, never invested too heavily, preferring to live a life that is warm and fluffy. Who can blame them, as they grow up, too often we shield them from the world as it exists and allow them to create a universe in which they are the center?
The Bucket – Redux
At times, we jump to a conclusion or accept a premise before we assess or analyze what is coming at us. We conclude that those rocks that are in the bucket are necessary to maintain the life that we dream of is our unavoidable cross to bear. Do you ever take the time you look in your bucket assess what is worthy of a coveted spot? How much of what you and I carry is due to a conscious choice? That which consumes space, in part, may represent an interest, an ideology or a dream whose time has come and gone.
Of course, there are things we carry that embody what life throws at us; these will always demand a place in our buckets, maybe just for a season or maybe to shorten our season. But there are also times that we fill our buckets with treasures and trinkets collected from flea markets and souvenir shops on our journey that take up valuable real estate. What would happen if we got rid of some of this nonsense that we unwittingly hand down to future generations, would our buckets be more manageable and less burdensome?
Hoarders Beware
In my bucket, you might find some smaller rocks that represent remnants from past endeavors that are no longer viable; now merely pipe dreams that serve no foreseeable purpose. In my lovely wife’s, you might find the worries that only a mother and wife can carry. Maybe its time to empty our buckets once again, and remove some of the debris; the worries, the apprehension, the doubt and the distrust that found their way in, having encroached on the valuable space once reserved for ingenuity, optimism passion and trust.
It’s a misconception that our buckets always need to be full. It’s our responsibility to make sure that what’s in them equips and prepares us to provide for our needs, however, its equally important that we have capacity to spare so we have the freedom to act when we get the privilege to carry each other’s burdens and lighten each other’s load.
So what rocks are in your bucket? Do you need them to help you get where you are going, building a bridge or a path to your future? If not, if what is in your bucket is holding you back, what can you shed to lighten your load?
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Good point Ivy, I see that everything you carry fits nicely in your fanny pack. They are indeed useful accessories.
Al and his faithful sidekick, and space conscious companion, Ivy the wonder pup.
That’s where you keep your trading cards? Did you print your own trading cards?