The Voices Cartoons

The Leak!

Here’s a little confession.

This cartoon is an autobiography.

It represents a process that I have repeatedly fallen for in voicesland.

Perhaps some of you can relate to this communication trap. The harmless “Oh, I’ll tell that to them later. It’s not urgent YET. Wouldn’t want to bother them now with this trivial thing…”

And I succumb to this resistance over-and-over again — until it becomes SUPER URGENT and things start to break down and I REALLY begin to BOTHER THEM through my lack of communication. Now they are really upset.

This sets up the cycle to dread communication next time.

The breakthrough I had was when I realized it wasn’t the communication that was received poorly. It was how I was set up to NOT COMMUNICATE that made the untimely communication a disaster.

It would have been so much cleaner to have said something at the very beginning when I had the insight to communicate.

But that’s the trap the voices get us with. They override life’s love for us through really bad advice, urgency, and fear.

They talk us into doing that which is harmful to us and talk us out of doing that which would take care of us.

Look into your own life to see if that’s so for you.

32-The-Leak-p-1-color32-The-Leak-p-2-color

One more thing I wanted to share with you. When I was a kid, I saw the Space Shuttle disaster with Christa McAuliffe (the school teacher who was going to space.)

I remember it distinctly. My brother and I were off from school due to the snow and I was watching it on the television in my room.

I remember the heartbreaking ball of fire as the shuttle exploded.

After the sadness of the tragedy began to fade, I remember the gnawing feeling inside of me. I projected what must have been going on for the person who approved the takeoff.

I didn’t know it then, but I sensed that he was overtaken by the voices just like the main character in my cartoon. That somehow he knew there was going to be a problem, but ignored it.

“The O-rings can’t take this cold, but all of America is waiting for this to happen, and all of these delays…”

I created this cartoon to remind me that I am practicing putting to rest the karma of bad communication. I’m posting it here today as a recommitment to myself that I am not that person.

I practice compassionate communication that makes for clarity.

In lovingkindness,


If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume One).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume Two).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume Three).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, A Shift to Love: Zen Stories and Lessons by Alex Mill.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Meditation and Reinventing Yourself.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, The Zen Life: Spiritual Training for Modern Times.

 


  Alex Mill trained in a Zen Buddhist monastery for nearly 14 years. He now offers his extensive experience to transform people’s lives and businesses through timeless Zen principles.

He is the creator of three powerful 30-day programs, Heart-to-Heart: Compassionate Self-Mentoring, Help Yourself to Change, and Your Practice, as well as the online Zen meditation workshop, Taming Your Inner Noise (now offered as The FREE Zen Workshop).

Alex has also written seven books on Zen awareness practice. The latest are entitled A Shift to Love: Zen Stories and Lessons (Get it for FREE here) and the 3-book series Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness.

He is a full-time Zen Life Coach who offers guidance and life-changing support to his private clients worldwide. Book a call.