Today’s quote comes to you from The Ancient One in Doctor Strange – and, let us just say, it is some ancient wisdom indeed! For those of you that haven’t seen Doctor Strange, the Ancient One serves as the keeper of special and timeless things, and is overall a pretty cool and kicka$$ character.
We love The Ancient One for what she says in this quote because, too often, many of us think that in order to live up to our highest and best selves we have to “get rid of” or “defeat” our demons – and the relationship between the two is always thought about as a battle. BUT, (contrary to popular belief) The Ancient One tells us that rather than trying to DEFEAT a demon, it is better to rise above it to the point where it can no longer hurt you. And, the hard truth being – no matter how high you fly above it – and how far removed you feel – that doesn’t mean it ever fully goes away!
And THAT is what we think is so special about this quote. The Ancient One reveals what it’s really about: knowing when to come alongside something and use its momentum to help move YOU, instead of trying to just hit it head on and face it. You know, sort of like battling against the ocean…If you get stuck in an undertow, your best bet is to go WITH the flow (instead of trying to swim against the current), and use the waves power to help move you to land. It is the same with our demons. We must learn to coexist with them, just as we learn to ride the wave. Because, our demons – like the ocean – are a force that can never be destroyed, BUT we can learn to use their power to our advantage…
If we think about this quote in terms of our everyday, ordinary folk, earthling lives – those of us who battle with addiction immediately come to mind. Thinking about how EVERY TIME an addict goes to an AA program, they introduce themselves again as an addict – no matter how much time has passed, or how much success they’ve seen in their recovery! This goes to show that our demons never truly leave us – and they will always be a part of us…but we CAN (and we WILL!) learn to live alongside them…
And, we ALL need to learn the way because EVERYONE has demons. Sometimes they’re little tiny gremlins and other times they’re great big monsters – but everybody has them! As humans, it’s natural to wonder, and instinctively question, “WHY do I have this demon?” or “WHY have I not overcome this yet?”. But – the problem is – when we start thinking too much on our demons, we start to invite them back into our lives. Because, what we THINK about…we BRING about! (Who knew that one before they even finished reading?! 🙂
AKA: Asking why or thinking about our demons means we want to focus on them or battle them – and thus ENGAGES with the demon we only wish to get rid of! SO – as The Ancient One illuminates – we must learn to leave our demons where they lay, and place our focus on flying as far above them as we can, each and every day!
Ever wonder what demons have for breakfast? Deviled Eggs, an entire Squeeze In omelette, and one order of our bite sized, 5 minute podcast episode!…Want some for yourself? Give in to the devil on your shoulder and order your favorite indulgence to go here, plus pair it with a podcast right here!
