Of Being a Victim, Learning How to Slackline, and Finding Your Inner Unicorn
Let’s get real about what it takes to be truly you
Hey beautiful people!
I wrote this article a while ago and even though it never got much traction, it is actually one of my favorite ones. It points toward something that is so profound for me and yet so hard to put words to it. So I hope you enjoy my attempt at playfulness and let me know if you get what I mean! I will use the Slackline analogy in other writing so I thought it's a good way to introduce it also. Have a great weekend xxx
I recently learned how to slackline. I’m not a pro but I can walk up and down the line and if you have ever set a foot on one of them you know that that’s not an easy feat.
In fact, the most common response of someone trying it for the first time is something like ‘WTF! This is impossible!’
Because you see someone walking on the line and it looks relatively easy, you just don’t expect that the line when you put your foot on it for the very first time wobbles like a mother…trucker.
It’s seriously insane.
From there it’s inconceivable that you will ever be able to actually do it. It feels humanly impossible. Except you see others do it. Damn. Here goes your story of defeat.
What does that have to do with being a victim?
Life is like a slackline. It’s crazily unstable, it wobbles like shit and we tend to fall off every few steps.
That’s just life.
When I was teaching a friend the basics of slacklining I told him one rule: Don’t expect it not to wobble. Don’t expect not to fall off.
Because, you see, that’s the number one mistake people make. They put their foot on the thing and because it doesn’t behave the way they want it to, they either make up a story of how they are just not meant to do this or that it’s impossible, too hard, too unsafe and god knows what.
They give up.
They become victims of their expectations because they expect it to be easy. They expect reality (the slackline) to be different than what it is. The nature of the slackline however is to wobble. That’s just its nature.
So everyone has a choice. Feel the wobble and say no way, this is impossible I’m not even going to try.
Or
you become a unicorn.
That’s no joke, I’m actually serious. If you don’t believe me, let’s look at unicorns: They are magical creatures believing in the goodness of life. They are full of trust and they are aware of their magic powers. They are curious by nature and if they fall off anywhere, they just open their wings and fly. In fact, they are really the opposite of a victim.
They just roll with life.
If a unicorn has expectations it would probably be something like:
I can handle everything that comes my way no matter what because I trust in the perfection of the universe.
Furthermore, they would neither be ashamed of falling off a slackline, nor would they feel defeated or scared by the wobble itself. They would just keep going. Doing it over and over again until they found that part of themselves that is essential in slacklining and life: their center.
The center is the place in which magic happens. It is the place of stillness within that allows us to relax and yet be fully alert and attentive. It’s where we can take a breath and despite any outside circumstance or wobble stay present with reality exactly as it is.
It’s the place where we don’t expect not to fall off and yet do our best to stay on.
When you are on a slackline, you have to let go of the outcome, for the sake of being absolutely present. As soon as you lose your focus, the line starts to wobble again. And when it does, you have to forgive yourself and come back to your center again and again and again.
If you dwell on not being good enough, you wobble.
and
If you dwell on how hard it is, you wobble.
In fact, if you dwell on anything other than the joy of staying present, you have already probably fallen off.
But the beauty is, that that’s part of the process, too. Unicorns know that. To be truly themselves they accept all of it: the wobble, the falling off, the learning to stay on even while it’s wobbly, and they just enjoy themselves along the way.
Because why would you slackline or do life at all, if not for the fun of it?
If you like what you read, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you!
Kasia Patzelt is an Artist, Laughter Yogi, and Embodiment Coach. She helps people to release trauma and learn the art of self-compassion through embodiment practices and creativity.