When is the cavalry arriving?
The idea of being rescued is a seductive one, and we have all felt that we need rescuing at some point in our lives. There is something simple and reassuring in the promise, that if you stand your ground and await, there are people coming to save you and turn the fortunes of war from a defeat into a victory. It is a romantic and heroic idea, holding the line in the face of overwhelming odds, it is a story you can build a life on, if I just hold on, if I endure just for a little longer, I will triumph and win the day. Life will give me my big break, I will discover I have a talent for the purpose of my life, I will meet the person who makes me feel loved and safe.
Stories can be dangerous, our minds enjoy a good narrative especially where we are the centre of the story, they like to know where we have been and what is in our future, which as far as the ego is concerned is the sum total of who you are, it has a reckless disregard of who you are now in this moment. That is because the ego does not exist in this moment, it is a tool for dealing with time, and it certainly has evolutionary advantages, a creature who is able to predict future outcomes based on what has happened before, is more adaptable and better able to survive than any of its competitors. The ego is certainly not there to make you happy, being happy does not improve your odds of survival, it does not bring you more food, helps you fight rivals and it is only recently that happiness has become an attractive trait in a partner. Its job is to point out everything that might kill you either immediately or in the long term, it reminds you of the rules of your society as being part of that society and thriving in it increases your survival. It tells you what could go wrong and what is wrong with you, so you can improve, it is a blunt tool and is so successful because it is relentless in what can only be described as epic nagging.
And the problem with stories is that the mind loves them, thoughts are small stories that give us information, if those thoughts are wrong we are basing our decisions on incorrect information and that can be fatal. Waiting to be rescued, sets up the idea in our minds that we are fine as we are, it is okay to be unhappy now because we will be happy later, when the Prince rescues us from our prison we will be taken to the magical land where everyone sings all day and eats chocolate for breakfasts. It removes the responsibility to be happy and satisfied now, to enjoy life now rather than awaiting your prince. It does not not matter what form your prince takes, it is not just someone with a pretty smile, it can be the book that you want to write, the achievement that means more than momentary happiness, the race to be won, the baby to be born. It also puts an unfair responsibility onto your prince, not only are they supposed to be the solution to your happiness but they are also presumably responsible for their own happiness before they even arrive. Which seems a little unfair that the Prince has to be happy for two people and you do not even have to be happy for one.
Personally I'm looking for a Princess who has already got herself out of the tower, has already got rid of that dangerously impractical hair, knows how to ride around her own horse if that is her thing and is busy enjoying herself learning, living a healthy and happy life and growing as being of consciousness. I do not really want someone lost in a maze of distorted thinking and sitting around complaining that they have not been rescued yet, and if that sounds harsh, do not worry it is directed at me not you, it is just as self-defeating being the rescuer in this type of story. I get to choose a new story to tell myself, we changed the little stories by changing the big stories, and the big stories are just little thoughts that changed the course of the moments we are having in our own lives. A book is not written in an afternoon, it is written one word at a time, you have to choose in each moment to write another one, then you have to do it again and again.
Of course, if you have to convince yourself that you are your own cavalry every time you want to take a good action or have a good thought, it is very time-consuming. The simpler way is to be the person who takes that action out of habit or their own inner nature, it is easier just to be a good person rather than someone imitating the actions of a good person. It is the familiar loop of being, doing and then having, where being is the emotional state of having.
Instead of waiting for the cavalry, become your own cavalry, look for that surge of energy from inside you, not from some outside source. The source you are looking for is within you, you have such unimaginable depth, and it is unimaginable, the mind cannot imagine it, it cannot experience it and to be fair, is entirely the wrong tool for doing so. It is not what it is made for, its purposes is for dealing with the future and the past, it gave us the edge and advantage that insured our survival, and gave us the chance to go beyond the mind. We all have the capability to experience our own consciousness, its depth and the strength that comes from it, the ability to be present and that is when we are at our best when we have presence in whatever situation we might find ourselves in the moment. That is what the cavalry truly is, instead of being lost in the past and future, scared and hopeful at the same time, the cavalry is the capability to be fully present and aware, and to bring that clarity to solve any problem, all you have to do is call for it and it will be there.
