How to adapt to change
The dodo complex
Once upon a time in a faraway ocean was a tropical island paradise unknown to mankind. This island paradise was rich in wild fauna and flora and the home to many wonderful creatures including the Dodo.
The Dodo was a large child size prehistoric bird. Most importantly was not its great size but the fact that it was a unique species not just to the island but to the planet itself.
The Dodo fed from the abundant seeds and exotic tropical fruits provided by mother-nature. It lived a life of peace, abundance and complacency. High levels of activity, fear of predators and food deprivation were unknown to Dodo.
It is no surprise that its low activity level and high calorie consumption had contributed to two of Dodo’s main features: An XXL body and a reduction in wing size which hindered it from flying like other birds. In other words Dodo was the couch potato of its species. I bird that had lost its ability to fly.
With no enemies, Dodo lived in harmony with all creatures. It happily befriended others and was rather curious in nature. I sometimes imagine it as the dolphin of birds.
It is a fact of life that there is no peace without turmoil, no prey without predator. Simple facts that we all understand as humans but Dodo didn’t. In fact there is nothing more certain in life than the guarantee of hardship, pain and adversity. And in its due course Dodo’s adversary one day landed on one of the island’s pristine beaches in the form of the hungry Dutch sailors on large mother-ships.
Deep within the ship’s entrails lived uninvited passengers; hundreds of rats. As we know one threat never comes alone. Instead on running for its life, Dodo who refused to believe that any being in this beautiful world would ever have harmful intentions and was soon going to be up for a disappointment. When it ran towards its country’s visitors to welcome them on the shore, it did not know that it was also running towards its demise.
The aftermath of the story is an island’s resources ravaged by the rats. A population of birds depleted by the attacks on the birds nest and their unhatched eggs.
The brutal extermination of the Dodo species for its meat so much so as to cause the complete eradication of the species. Letting its guard down and its defenseless abilities had turned Dodo victim to the insatiable humans.
The Dodo story is a powerful life analogy, one which you will see repeated over and over and over.
Moral of the story:
Nothing remains the same in our realm. Permanence is impossible. Although we may not perceive it, everything is changing constantly. By the time you would have completed this paragraph, the universe would have expanded, the planets would have changed position, the world’s economies would have shifted, the stock market would have drifted, your body would have aged, the clothes you are wearing would have withered, people would have died, newborns would have come to life, new viruses would have mutated and the battery of your mobile would have been depleted a little.
Because we do not perceive these changes does not mean that they are not taking place. Like the Dodo living in the abundance of its paradise island did not see it coming, most of us live and strive for some sort of stability. We try by all means to make things permanent through the process of contracts of law, warranties or ownership. Whereas if we were ever provided with an honest sort of contract by life, that contract would only include one irrevocable policy that “everything as you know it right now, will come to change”
There is tremendous liberation that comes in life with the understanding and acceptance that people and things are designed to pass. And because of that same knowledge we should find gratitude in the passing of each moment for the blessings we have been granted. Life was thus created to make place for new things to come. No object can move forward while remaining in the same position. Translation; you cannot grow in your comfort zones.
The world of self-development nowadays is a billion dollar industry and is mostly designed for customers suffering from the Dodo complex. We are made to believe two distinct factors which I utterly disagree with and will come to disprove in the following pages:
- Healing and growth can be achieved by focusing purely on the within approach. The inner self, emotions, spirituality, soul and feelings. We are as much beings of matter as we are spiritual being. The treatment of the outer core and taking action in the outer environment are as powerful if not essential for growth and healing. I call it the healing of the inner core through the work of the outer shell. It is a combination of both. In battle, the armor is crucial to the warrior’s survival.
- You are so special and worthy. I have trouble completing the line without a giggle. You can repeat this sentence to yourself and have a hundred gurus say it to you until they are blue in the face, this will never be a reality until you have challenged yourself and taken action. There is no reward without action. This notion that you will achieve illumination, and collect 100 “A-Ha!” moments in the comfort of your garden furniture back yard while sipping rooibos tea under an oak tree is amusing. Life changing experiences, financial success, physical health optimization, self-love, happiness cannot be achieved without a degree of activity and motion.
Action is the key. The small actions we make excuses for not taking. The small actions we fail to execute all pile up on the scale of your self-esteem. Make no mistake, when you fail to execute, you fail yourself. No amount of “I am special!”, “I am worthy!” is going to make up for it. How will you ever believe in yourself if you do not show integrity to yourself? It is like dating someone who never lives up to their word. The small actions are everything, they create momentum for larger things to come. Making that call, setting that appointment, making that CV, going for that course, taking that exam, going for that walk, looking into those bills, having that conversation. Procrastination is a death by a thousand cut to your self-worth. We extend our procrastination and give ourselves numerous good reasons for not getting it done now.
This blog is a call for the falcon warrior in you. As heir of the human DNA you are a surviving warrior which have evolved and thrived in the harshest set of circumstances. It is no feel-good, airy fairy, gratitude journal, potpourri and bath & body works scented candles bath time type of blog. Prepare for a cold shower approach to life, a much needed shock to the system.