Well… Are You?

Well… Are You?

Release the chains, I can’t reach

I don’t hold the key?

They’re heavy and the impede me every day

I can’t help you carry them?

Can you call for the keyholder, I want to speak with them…

I’m sorry I can’t, they don’t seem to hear me

Can you not shout louder, I need them now!

It is not my volume that is the problem

Then why do they not hear you?

Because they don’t want to hear the truth!

What! I don’t understand what you’re saying?

Those chains that weigh you down so much…

What about them?

They’re not real

Trust me, friend, I know how real they are, they are with me every day of my life… Why would you insult me like that, do you think I am lying to you?

No, you are not lying to me, just yourself…

What do you mean? Talk straight and not in riddles!

As you wish… Those chains that stop you from reaching what you want and that weigh you down and impact you so much are not real, physical, chains. They are your beliefs about you and about how the world is.

You are the only keyholder for those chains, but you don’t want to hear that, you want it to be someone else!

If what you’re saying is true, then why would I want it to be someone else?

Because then it wouldn’t be your responsibility to release yourself by questioning the validity, truth & real value of your current beliefs…

You could carry on blissfully pretending to yourself that these chains are not your doing and that you must suffer your life this way because that’s just the way it is, and above all else, it’s not your fault!

So you’re saying that this whole situation I am in is simply the way I think and not a reality – are you mad?

No, please don’t get me wrong, it is a reality, it is your reality, but it is not the true reality, it is just the one you have made for yourself, and pretend it contains things that happen to you that you don’t want so that you can feel better about what you don’t do because it’s not your fault after all…

So, if this is all true, answer me one simple question then…

Ask me anything, but I cannot promise that you will like the answer!

What is this ‘true’ reality you mentioned, what does that look like?

Ah, the perfect question and one that I can answer easily – the true reality represents the blank canvas of our life and that we are the painter with a myriad of brushes and paints at our disposal at all times.

So, what does this true reality actually look like…

Whatever you want it to, it’s all about choice… Your choice

­(Silence)

May I be permitted to ask you a question?

Erm.. sure

Are you keeping the chains?

© Iain Merchant 2021