When life gets messy, we try our best to reset things in hopes that the future will be different and better. But resetting alone won’t get you there. Simply resetting without reorienting properly will create the same problems as before.
For example, when my family and I walk in the park, a common sight unfolds as we stroll past the trashcans. Inevitably the lids have been popped off and garbage is splayed out all over the ground. Under the cover of darkness, mischievous raccoons have sifted through the trash looking for food to satisfy their midnight cravings.
Doing our part to help, we clean up as best we can. But no matter how many times we clean up, the following day is like the previous one. Who’s responsible for this all too often scene?
It would be easy to blame the freeloading, conniving raccoons for throwing garbage all over the place as they gorge on uneaten french fries. But the raccoons are just being raccoons. They don’t see litter, they see lunch. The raccoons will keep reorienting to the trashcans as long as a meal is to be had.
It is also easy to blame the short-sighted park board for allowing trashcans in the park that are not animal proof. But the park board is just being the park board. They don’t see litter, they see logistics. The park board will keep resetting the cans as long as there is trash to be picked up.
If the raccoons or the park board aren’t responsible, then who is?
There is only one person to consider. That's me. And also you. Actually, the individual in all of us is responsible. I blame every one of us because we all permit similar events to occur in our life without doing anything productive about it.
We all pick up the same garbage and place it back in the same faulty can. And we all hope next time the raccoons won’t show interest. But that’s not realistic. Raccoons love garbage and will always come back for more.
While it might not involve raccoons or garbage, we all engage in analogous situations every day.
When you reset, you “set anew.” Setting anew is not a bad thing per se. To clean up the trash is an example of resetting things. It is a good thing to clean up litter. But to reset without taking stock of the issues that plague you will lead to the same problems. Same garbage, different day.
It is important to reorient yourself along with resetting. To reorient is to “personally set things right by adjusting to the facts of the situation.” Despite popular belief, facts require personal experience. Facts need to be put through the lens of consciousness. You can’t be a passive observer of facts. You need to be an active participant in them.
For example, the raccoons have reoriented to the fact that they can pop the trashcan lids off and eat to their heart’s content. But because of this reorientation, the park is littered with trash as a result. Facts can be wasteful if not put in the right hands. And when you personally get involved in the act of reorienting, circumstances will change instead of repeating.
If you consciously reorient enough times while you reset, genuine questions will bubble to the surface. You go from asking questions like: Why doesn’t the park do something about the raccoons trashing the place? To: What can I do to bring about a better, healthier park? You might even one day ask bigger questions like: What can I do to bring about a better, healthier me?
We have to put ourselves in our lives. Aiming for the truth, not the facts, is the best way to achieve this. That’s because facts aren’t always right but the truth is always good.
So if you are going to reset aspects of your life, make sure you reorientate properly as well. Rid yourself of the junk that messes up your life. But try and add a layer of truth to it while you’re at it.
- Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP
Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.
