A dance is just a dance; or is it?
Dancing…I love it. It doesn’t matter if I have a dance partner or not, what type of music (in most cases), or where I’m at. I’m one of those people that will bop up and down in the supermarket or jig within any clothes store in the mall. This, of course, embarrasses my family (hee hee). I love rhythm. It helps me unwind, defocus, and puts me at the pace and pulse of the beat. I have to admit a lot of times my dancing is within the soul.
Who are you dancing with?
Throughout life we dance in distinct ways. As I dive into the 5th chapter of my book dealing with choices, I am finding that often times we concede due to compromises we make when we really shouldn’t. Have you ever had a twirl with Sir Compromise? He seems to always show up when you’re in the middle of the dance floor of tough choices. He’s the one that persuades you that it’s okay to bend the rules a bit or stick with the tiny, white-lie. He’ll even convince you in believing that you’re the hero of the hour even when the matter-at-hand is ¾ good and ¼ bad.
Twirling and Twirling
Sir Compromise is quite the dancer. He’ll twirl and twirl you during the decision-thinking process, making sure your sight becomes distorted. The focus becomes your dancing partner, and he’ll constantly prompt you to keep in step. Forget about trying to study any aspect, or stepping back to see the whole picture. Remember he’s a pro and wouldn’t want you to step on him, trip, or worst…stop dancing all together.
When the twirling stops…
As the twirling-dance slows to a stop, you’re out of breath, dizzy and need to grab on to something fast so that you don’t topple over. Decisiveness now dominates and the choice must be made. You want to concede to Sir Compromise even though nothing was clear during your reasoning time, because your analysis did not include your belief system or your conscience.
Dancing with one Partner
Dancing with Compromise alone, never gives Lady Belief and Jimmy the Conscience the chance to balance out your tough decisions, as Sir Compromise urges you to go with your gut. Hey and why not! We live in a world where we are encouraged not to conform or believe in absolutes. Heaven forbid you step back long enough to see we daily conform and mimic each other to fit into the world of absolute oblivion. We are told to live the life of anything goes forcing us to anesthetize values. How then can you trust your gut when you’re constantly numbing “your” sense of right and wrong?
Walking Away with Compromise
Each of our decisions has a ripple effect in our life. Whether we choose to accept it or not or whether you believe it or not, quite a few of the decisions you make affects others. When we dance with Sir Compromise, we ignore Lady Belief’s beckoning to come and sit for a while, and drown out the voice of Jimmy the Conscience. On the arm of Sir Compromise dizzy and out of breath, you choose his way of escape and promise of kingdom bliss. You feel happy and relieved, but as you take one last glance at Lady Belief she still motions you to come back and sit, and you finally hear Jimmy the Conscience’s last screaming attempt “don’t do it”! Sir Compromise points to the castle in the horizon and the long red carpet set before you.
The Red-Carpet Treatment
The carpet looks magnificent and plush as Compromise continues twirling you every once in a while. Happily you walk with your rationalizing companion, never noticing that the passage is narrowing and the walls are closing in. Abruptly Sir Compromise bids you farewell and tells you to follow the red-tattered road. You turn to protest, but somehow he has disappeared. You’re alone and cannot go back because, unbelievably, the passage way has also disappeared behind you.
Red Strings
As you move forward it feels like the ceiling is now creeping downward. Your chest begins to get tight as you become aware of the mistake that you have made. You’re alone and afraid because you realize that the ceiling is slowly inching down, the walls are still coming in and you are now forced down to your knees. You can only move forward and no matter how many times you look back, all the passage ways behind you have closed. Down to a crawl, you can hardly fit when finally you see in front of you a small entrance. Moving quickly you inch towards the doorway as quickly as you can to find that getting through will require you to slide through it on your belly. Looking down your eyes widen in disbelief as you notice that the beautiful red carpet is all but red strings.
The Crawl
As you crawl on your belly, using your elbows and legs to push through, you start to feel the sting of scraping skin. As incredible as this seems, the worst is yet to come. You tilt your head up only to find that the ceiling is right above it. The pounding in your chest is deafening as the space your crawling is getting tighter. You continue to move forward at a snail’s pace when all of the sudden you notice the lights are dimming. You close your eyes and grit your teeth in complete frustration with your decision to listen to Jerk Compromise. It’s totally dark now and all you can do is feel your way through. Your head is brushing the ceiling, your body aches from the awkward position you’re in. You have bumps, scratches, scrapes and bruises and all you want is for this nightmare to end.
Meet King Consequence
As you’re wishing away the dream, the unexpected happens. The floor gives way. Down you fall, in the dark, hands and legs flailing helplessly. With a loud thud you land. It takes you a while to grasp you’re surroundings but when you’re finally able to focus and straighten yourself out, you find that you are at the feet of the throne of King Consequence. Before you can even get up, he welcomes you into his kingdom and advises you that he expects you be his loyal subject just like Sir Compromise. “I’ll name you Pauper Oblivious, a slave you will be…to the dungeon of regret with you in my palace of disbelief.” This is when you realize with sad disbelief that Sir Compromise and the King are an unsympathetic, unforgiving, and ruthless beings.
Harsh Reality of the Dance
This may sound like an awful fairy tale but it is the reality for a quite a few. This story is not about the compromise to reach a happy medium for good, but the compromise that creates hurtful results; especially for you. So the next time Sir Compromise extends his hands for a dance ask yourself if that twirl and rumba is really worth it. Chances are you’d rather sit it out and chat with Lady Belief and make Jimmy the conscience your new best friend.
Dancing…I love it. It doesn’t matter if I have a dance partner or not, what type of music (in most cases), or where I’m at. I’m one of those people that will bop up and down in the supermarket or jig within any clothes store in the mall. This, of course, embarrasses my family (hee hee). I love rhythm. It helps me unwind, defocus, and puts me at the pace and pulse of the beat. I have to admit a lot of times my dancing is within the soul.Who are you dancing with?
Throughout life we dance in distinct ways. As I dive into the 5th chapter of my book dealing with choices, I am finding that often times we concede due to compromises we make when we really shouldn’t. Have you ever had a twirl with Sir Compromise? He seems to always show up when you’re in the middle of the dance floor of tough choices. He’s the one that persuades you that it’s okay to bend the rules a bit or stick with the tiny, white-lie. He’ll even convince you in believing that you’re the hero of the hour even when the matter-at-hand is ¾ good and ¼ bad.
Twirling and Twirling
Sir Compromise is quite the dancer. He’ll twirl and twirl you during the decision-thinking process, making sure your sight becomes distorted. The focus becomes your dancing partner, and he’ll constantly prompt you to keep in step. Forget about trying to study any aspect, or stepping back to see the whole picture. Remember he’s a pro and wouldn’t want you to step on him, trip, or worst…stop dancing all together.
When the twirling stops…
As the twirling-dance slows to a stop, you’re out of breath, dizzy and need to grab on to something fast so that you don’t topple over. Decisiveness now dominates and the choice must be made. You want to concede to Sir Compromise even though nothing was clear during your reasoning time, because your analysis did not include your belief system or your conscience.
Dancing with one Partner
Dancing with Compromise alone, never gives Lady Belief and Jimmy the Conscience the chance to balance out your tough decisions, as Sir Compromise urges you to go with your gut. Hey and why not! We live in a world where we are encouraged not to conform or believe in absolutes. Heaven forbid you step back long enough to see we daily conform and mimic each other to fit into the world of absolute oblivion. We are told to live the life of anything goes forcing us to anesthetize values. How then can you trust your gut when you’re constantly numbing “your” sense of right and wrong?
Walking Away with Compromise
Each of our decisions has a ripple effect in our life. Whether we choose to accept it or not or whether you believe it or not, quite a few of the decisions you make affects others. When we dance with Sir Compromise, we ignore Lady Belief’s beckoning to come and sit for a while, and drown out the voice of Jimmy the Conscience. On the arm of Sir Compromise dizzy and out of breath, you choose his way of escape and promise of kingdom bliss. You feel happy and relieved, but as you take one last glance at Lady Belief she still motions you to come back and sit, and you finally hear Jimmy the Conscience’s last screaming attempt “don’t do it”! Sir Compromise points to the castle in the horizon and the long red carpet set before you.
The Red-Carpet Treatment
The carpet looks magnificent and plush as Compromise continues twirling you every once in a while. Happily you walk with your rationalizing companion, never noticing that the passage is narrowing and the walls are closing in. Abruptly Sir Compromise bids you farewell and tells you to follow the red-tattered road. You turn to protest, but somehow he has disappeared. You’re alone and cannot go back because, unbelievably, the passage way has also disappeared behind you.
Red Strings
As you move forward it feels like the ceiling is now creeping downward. Your chest begins to get tight as you become aware of the mistake that you have made. You’re alone and afraid because you realize that the ceiling is slowly inching down, the walls are still coming in and you are now forced down to your knees. You can only move forward and no matter how many times you look back, all the passage ways behind you have closed. Down to a crawl, you can hardly fit when finally you see in front of you a small entrance. Moving quickly you inch towards the doorway as quickly as you can to find that getting through will require you to slide through it on your belly. Looking down your eyes widen in disbelief as you notice that the beautiful red carpet is all but red strings.
The Crawl
As you crawl on your belly, using your elbows and legs to push through, you start to feel the sting of scraping skin. As incredible as this seems, the worst is yet to come. You tilt your head up only to find that the ceiling is right above it. The pounding in your chest is deafening as the space your crawling is getting tighter. You continue to move forward at a snail’s pace when all of the sudden you notice the lights are dimming. You close your eyes and grit your teeth in complete frustration with your decision to listen to Jerk Compromise. It’s totally dark now and all you can do is feel your way through. Your head is brushing the ceiling, your body aches from the awkward position you’re in. You have bumps, scratches, scrapes and bruises and all you want is for this nightmare to end.
Meet King Consequence
As you’re wishing away the dream, the unexpected happens. The floor gives way. Down you fall, in the dark, hands and legs flailing helplessly. With a loud thud you land. It takes you a while to grasp you’re surroundings but when you’re finally able to focus and straighten yourself out, you find that you are at the feet of the throne of King Consequence. Before you can even get up, he welcomes you into his kingdom and advises you that he expects you be his loyal subject just like Sir Compromise. “I’ll name you Pauper Oblivious, a slave you will be…to the dungeon of regret with you in my palace of disbelief.” This is when you realize with sad disbelief that Sir Compromise and the King are an unsympathetic, unforgiving, and ruthless beings.
Harsh Reality of the Dance
This may sound like an awful fairy tale but it is the reality for a quite a few. This story is not about the compromise to reach a happy medium for good, but the compromise that creates hurtful results; especially for you. So the next time Sir Compromise extends his hands for a dance ask yourself if that twirl and rumba is really worth it. Chances are you’d rather sit it out and chat with Lady Belief and make Jimmy the conscience your new best friend.
