Showing Up and Doing What It Takes

Showing Up and Doing What It Takes

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Martin Luther King had said “Someone really should do something about civil rights,” then left it at that? What if he had thought “doing something” was too big a risk, or he wasn’t worthy of leading the charge, or he wasn’t sure what step to take first, or was having a bad day when the notion bubbled up, or simply let the thought drift on past, observed but not acted upon? What would have happened if he had not allowed himself to Show Up and Do What It Takes to Be who he was born to be? What will happen if YOU don’t allow yourself to Show Up and Do What It Takes to Be who you are born to be?

My dear friend Amie writes a wonderful blog titled “My Existential Musings,” and I’ve been doing some existential musing myself lately, partially triggered by a comment from another dear friend, Kathleen. She admitted to being frustrated (annoyed?) by smart, hard-working people who claim they want their lives and businesses to thrive, but didn’t appear willing to do what it takes to make that happen. That got me wondering about what it really means to show up and do what it takes and suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks – we have misidentified the starting point and some pretty crucial steps.

We could all take a lesson from the garden. No matter how much we’d like them to, plants don’t just pop out of the ground fully grown and blooming. I remember well the frustration of trying to grow ivy as a ground cover in my first “real” yard. I carefully prepared the earth, gently planted the baby ivies, watered and fertilized, then eagerly awaited a lush expanse of gorgeous green. Instead, they just sat there, neither growing nor dying, looking pretty darn lazy. Surely something was wrong! So I called my Mom who has the gift of being able to plant a broomstick and have it sprout roses, and she reminded me of the old proverb regarding ivy – The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps. Hmmmmmm….

That baby plant may look as if it is napping (that’s what babies do, after all!), but it’s really hard at work adjusting to its new world and growing from the inside out. Virtually every ounce of energy it can get is going into creating the root system that will support and sustain it throughout its life. Guess that is important work and I’ll just have to work on being patient.

The second year was a little better. The baby ivies had decided they were happy in my yard and began tentatively putting out new leaves and tendrils. But only a few. By that time, my human baby had gone from being a cherub in the crib to the climbing queen, so why weren’t my baby ivies venturing further afield? Mom to the rescue again, explaining the Catch-22 of plant growth. While each new leaf gave the baby ivy more opportunity to soak up sunshine and water and fertilizer, it also took more energy to support that expansion. So just as Baby Caroline took a nap every afternoon to recharge and go again, Baby Ivy was dividing its energy between growing roots (napping) and growing leaves (running and playing). Darn. More patience.

The third year, though, something magical happened. Having decided they really liked my yard and the TLC they received – TLC that included the time and space to put down roots, grow strong stems, and pretty up the green leaves – the baby ivies suddenly scampered off in every direction, rapidly covering my flower bed with the luxuriant green carpet I had envisioned only three short years before. Turns out those baby ivies were pretty wise. They knew the value of investing time and energy into getting their bearings, gathering what they needed, and growing into the type of robust plants that could sustain growth. It may not have looked as if they were doing much of anything to me, but they knew all along that if they tried to grow too fast without first investing in personal growth they would end up weak and stunted instead of healthy. They knew that trying to produce too much too soon would keep them from fulfilling their life mission of being fully actualized grown-up ivies. So they placidly ignored my impatient pleas to grow faster, produce sooner, and grant me instant gratification, and instead heeded their own inner ivy voice, fully focused on doing what it really takes so they could show up and be the ivies they were meant to be.

Of course, their work wouldn’t ever be over. Throughout their lives, they would need to re-invest in personal development, slurping up sunshine and water, resting regularly, ensuring that their roots stayed robust, and adding new leaves - all so they could weather the ups and downs of nature and be prepared for both expansion opportunities and adversity when they hit. Investing in personal growth would be a lifestyle for these baby ivies. And so it is for us.

From the moment we are born, we are bombarded with new ideas and opportunities and relationships, and with each one we are also presented with a second and sometimes hidden gift - the opportunity to grow into being the person who can fully step into this exciting new thing. Often that personal growth gift comes disguised as something we have always "hated" doing and previously avoided, or as something that has always annoyed us. Pay close attention to those clues! What feels like a head-on collision may actually be the gateway we are seeking. Our hearts may already be filled with giving and loving and a keen desire to manifest this new thing even while our habits are still stuck in some old fears including entitlement, avoidance, unworthiness, ego, doubt, anger, judgment, fear of failure, fear of success, unforgiveness, jealousy, or simply not yet open to receive.

Any time we undertake something new, the universe in its infinite wisdom and kindness also delivers us these additional gifts of life lessons that hit all our buttons, jangle every nerve, and throw us face-to-face with our biggest fears and avoidances. We can cheerily embrace these secondary but crucial gifts, or crawl back into our hole and pretend we never saw them. We could also run off and start something else new, forever addicted to that start-up high when everything is fresh and exciting. Of course, these choices only keep us frustrated and stuck in a loop, never quite reaching our heart’s desires. Our growth remains stunted, our heart’s desires always seem just out of reach, and the world that is waiting for us to show up must wait – again. Until we are ready to invest in our own growth.

Investing in growing into becoming the person who can, in sleeping and creeping, is the real first step. To those who are on the outside it may appear as if we are not yet doing anything, but look inside and ask yourself if you are doing the inner work. If so, your foot is already on the path. Those who continue to seek always find. And never forget - when we try to by-pass that essential inner step and rush into outer action, even at the well-intentioned urging of “experts,” we almost always stumble and may fall.

The real starting point is hidden beneath the surface, in the quietude of drawing energy in for putting down roots and growing into becoming the person who can step into “being” this new opportunity.
Those baby ivies knew something I was still learning. For optimal growth, drawing inward for rest and nourishment is just as important as taking outer action. That first year, they looked as if they were just sitting there doing nothing, mocking me for investing the time in giving them the tools to grow and flourish. Instead, they were quietly gathering strength for their growth spurt and building their foundation for becoming who they were meant to be. What a powerful lesson - Staying YOUR course rather than accepting what others think your course should be.

Sleep. Creep. Leap.

Become.