Pooh democracy and the art of taking things personally
Have you ever wondered why Switzerland is such a green place?
Well let me bring you in on a secret. It has nothing to do with being closer to God,
unless you believe that always being in the pooh is how one gets there.
A friend of mine, Casey, is in Hawaii at the moment (and you can’t get
closer to heaven than that.) When they arrived, Casey’s 5 year old daughter
took her first look at the vast lava fields surrounding her and with awe and delight
declared ‘cow pooh!’
Could it be that the spirit of the volcano is actually a giant cow deity?
And judging by the amount of Hawaii currently covered in ‘cow pooh’, obviously they don’t have any Swiss farmers around to methodically collect all the pooh, dilute it with water and spray it on the fields around your house, the way they do around mine, like clockwork, usually on a Sunday, just when friends are about to arrive for lunch.
I call this phenomenon ‘Swiss Pooh democracy’ . Every square inch of Switzerland gets its fair share of being ‘in the pooh’. Which explains why Switzerland is such a green place. And why everyone’s eyes are mostly glazed over. (Only kidding).
Actually pooh democracy is a very useful concept wherever you live in the world.
How so?
It teaches you not to take anything personally; to first consider the broader brush strokes before reacting to what’s right up your nose.
What has this to do with hands?
Your headline shows your thinking style. If you have a very curvy headline (like I do!) it means you’re inclined to take absolutely everything personally. When ‘pooh democracy’ knocks on your door you’ll take it as a personal vendetta rather than what it really is. Pooh protocol.
The Swiss are neutral remember!
; )
And what’s so bad about this?
When you start reacting to imagined situations or intentions rather than real ones this is the doorway to hell. It’s amazing how many of us don’t see that we actually have a choice: to turn this doorknob or not.
It’s really a question of being conscious and watching how you use your own thoughts to tip yourself into misery. I catch myself fondling this door knob all the time. But these days I try to step back and laugh at my own thoughts before taking them too seriously.
I’ve just been re-reading a fantastic little book on this subject by Don Miguel Ruiz. Maybe you already know it. It’s called ‘The Four Agreements’.
Ruiz outlines a simple 4 step strategy for flipping the switch between heaven and hell.
You do this by breaking all the agreements (inherited and self acquired beliefs) you’ve bought into that keep you in hell.
How? By simply putting in place 4 new agreements.
What are Ruiz’s 4 agreements?
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t make assumptions
Don’t take anything personally
Always do your best
‘Pooh democracy’ is a way of rolling agreement 2 and 3 into one simple ball.
A quick way to check if you’re violating your own mental space.
When something stinks in your life check for these two ingredients.
Chances are you are creating the real pooh in your inner environment (and therefore your outer) all by yourself.