Watershed Moments

When I woke up this morning hearing the chorus to the Indigo Girl’s song ‘Watershed,’ I immediately sat up to write down the lyrics.

“Up on the watershed…Standing at the fork in the road. You can stand there and agonize ’til your agony’s your heaviest load.

You’ll never fly as the crow flies; Get used to a country mile. When you’re learning to face the path at your pace, every choice is worth your while.”

The words had an immediate impact, as I often become extremely frustrated with the pace at which things manifest in the physical world. When you remember that manifesting happens instantaneously in the higher realms of existence, life on earth can feel like wading through ‘energetic’ mud!

What is the meaning of a “watershed moment?”

One definition of “watershed” is “an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend.”

From that, watershed came to mean a turning point or dividing line in life.

Many say the arrival of the coronavirus is such a moment of impact for all of humanity. And with financial markets at their lowest rate of return in over 30 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone is at each other’s throats.

“And there’s always retrospect (when you’re looking back) to light a clearer path.

Every five years or so, I look back on my life, and I have a good laugh

You start at the top; Go full circle round.

Catch a breeze. Take a spill

But ending up where I started again. Makes me want to stand still.”

When we reach a crossroads in our lives and take the time to look back on how far we have come, we begin to recognize that the old way of doing things is no longer supporting who we are now.

We must find closure with our past, not keep reliving it by repeating the same mistakes. When we change that internal dialogue in our heads, we rewrite the script of our future.

We keep repeating the same patterns because we have not yet changed our way of ‘thinking’…And that becomes a very well-worn path the older you get. You have all heard the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

While it is true that changing our long-established beliefs and ways of thinking is difficult, it is possible, especially when we zero in on the patterns that continually result in chronic stress, illness, injury, and loss.

Recognizing unprocessed trauma is important in the world of chronic pain and illness. If you ignore trauma, you will surely manifest dis-ease in the body, mind, spirit, and environment.

Look at what we have all just collectively manifested as a worldwide pandemic, a global awakening for all of humanity. And there are still so many of us just snoozing away in denial of the things we see manifesting right before our eyes. The world is in crisis, and it is our own ignorance that got us here.

It is time for us to stop sleepwalking and work together to create a better version of the future for ourselves and our children. They ARE the future.

I would like to think we all care enough to leave the world a much better place for them than the mess we have currently created.

The work begins on the individual level first, which scares the hell out of us when we consider having to face those ‘shadow selves’ lurking in the dark corners of our minds.

We all have them. Those dark fragmented selves continually rear their ugly heads to seek notice. And when they do, we run…and run…and run some more. But those little buggers are relentless.

Life constantly challenges us to break the cycle of worn-out old habits that no longer serve our personal growth. We often see ourselves reflected in the faces of others as we mistakenly place judgment on those who mirror our own reflections.

Is that why we dislike certain kinds of people? Is it because they reveal to us conflicting parts of ourselves that we have chosen to ignore?

We pop pills for pain and anxiety and busy ourselves with distractions, so we can avoid having to sit with ourselves and do the inner work. But suppose more of us work on those inner levels to conquer our individual fears and break those cycles of habitual ‘ill’ thinking.

In that case, we will eventually begin to transform our collective reality from that of division and victimization to that of unification. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

This is a great challenge in today’s world because we are constantly being bombarded with the energies of fear. It almost feels as if something ‘out there’ does not want us to discover our own power.

That would make us far too independent, self-reliant, and strong. Whereas keeping us sick, co-dependent, and weak keeps us more compliant and ‘controllable.’

That is why hate is running rampant in the world and continuing to grow at a very rapid rate. We are constantly being spoon-fed a regular diet of strategically biasing information designed to create turmoil throughout the hearts and minds of the people.

And they have the perfect weapon at their fingertips…The internet. Who needs nukes when you have the worldwide web at your disposal?

So, this is our ‘collective’ watershed moment. Suppose each of us would work on those inner levels to uncover the wealth of awareness that lies just beyond our deepest fears.

In that case, we will discover new perceptions of reality that will enrich our lives with the experiences that have long eluded us, shrouded behind that great wall of fear.

The divisions we have been experiencing result from the manipulative forces that we have ‘allowed’ to govern us our entire lives. And I am not speaking ‘party lines’ here, however, that is how we as a ‘collective’ have seen things manifest here in our physical world.

We see it most profoundly using fear and mistrust of other countries who do not share our cultural beliefs and practices. And even in our own country, the stokers of instability fan the flames of our fear of each other.

If we take a pause for a moment to see just how we got here, it seems so overwhelming. Perhaps…But we are not beyond redemption. We first, as individuals, must be willing to take that look back to see where along the line we were ‘derailed’ by fear.

These experiences are our ‘teachers’ or, more poignantly, our watershed moments where shifting our thoughts to a healthier perspective on them is the gateway to the evolving reality that where we focus our attention will determine what plays out for us in our experience of the world.

So, let us put our collective thinking caps on and get back on track. And remember, that which we seek to understand better will always be attracted to us.

I found a great excerpt from a piece written by author Jeff Foster (www.lifewithoutacentre.com) that sums things up beautifully here...

“Once, I ran from fear, so fear controlled me.

Until I learned to hold it like a newborn and listen to it but not give in. Honor it, but not worship it.”

Fear could not stop me anymore. I walked with courage into the storm. I still have fear, but fear does not have me.”