You’re enjoying the incredibly peaceful Flow of Oxygen into your snorkel as you easily float on the surface of the warm, safe waters. Aaaahh. You just feel a natural connection to your own Pure Source Energy (use whatever Label you like for it). You feel Clarity, Inspiration, Love, and Appreciation there at the surface of the waters.

But then, a Problem Fish swims by.

Something seems to have roughed up against your outer protection, your Ego wet suit. You’d like to ignore it, but with enough chaffing of the wet suit, you’ll get a hole and will be exposed. You’d better catch and teach that little fish NOT to do that again!

They are readily known for their habit of rubbing up against Ego wet suits, no matter what ocean you swim in. If you’ve got an Ego-suit, beware the Problem Fish! You could just let it swim on by, but you want to “school” that nasty fish! (ouch, sorry.)

As you stare at it and try to understand it, you’re amazed at the shifting and complicated patterns on it. It seemed so simple at first, but the more attention you give it, you see it really has some deviously drawn angles and quickness about it. Stealing your attention from the peaceful and serene floating you were enjoying, the Problem Fish captures your attention downward.

You take a huge gulp and hold your breath as you dive down. As you dive down, you increase your distance from your flow of Oxygen, and instantly feel worse. Remember the the Doppler Effect? Like a porpoise or a whale using frequency to find food or mates, your frequency and feelings change as you distance yourself from the Surface.

You no longer feel in the Flow. You now separate yourself from the Pure Breathing Source of Goodness up top as you change your gaze to stare down this Problem fish. Your lungs feel constricted and tighter. You’ve gone from Freedom and Happy to now like you’re chasing something and running out of air and directions. Oh, you REALLY want to fillet that thing now! Get the tartar sauce ready!

As you follow it, you start to recognize it’s pattern of swimming and begin to see how it reacts, and how you might put an end to this fish. Yet you’re still following it downward. Your lungs and heart and body just don’t feel so great. As you give it more attention, it continues to swim just a little faster than you and remains elusively out of your reach.

Feel the power of that litte fish! It may be ugly and only a few inches long, but it seems to have the strength of the mightiest sea Kraken of yore. Rather than just letting it go, it now seems to be dragging you down into the depths.

You’ve almost forgotten by now how Easy it felt up top. How Free and Clear and Fun it was. Now, down here, focused on catching and killing that little fish, you just feel worse as you chase it.

The Surface calls to you, but you don’t even hear it. Your attention has shifted.

OK, maybe that’s not what everyone does with the “Index finger”, but each of our fingers has several purposes, right?

Ever admire your hand before? Take a look and admire yours no matter what they look like. Each of those digits you have has an individual talent of their own.

Thumb – well known for texting, hitchiking, and allowing you to say something is “OK”.
Pointer finger – excellent nose cleaner -(yes we CAN see you in your car!), mouse clicker, and all round favorite finger next to, of course, the ….
Middle finger – when our mind can’t express frustration quick enough, this digit sure can, often TOO quickly.
Ring finger – let’s people know your marriage situation and overall space filler.
Pinky finger- balancer for the whole hand and lets people properly know I’m enjoying my cup of tea.

Like a set of fingers, each of us have our talents. I’m glad I don’t have ALL pointer fingers, or all thumbs. Imagine trying to successfully do any task with five of any one of them.

Using the whole hand together, look at what you can do compared to just one finger’s strength.

When we use all of them together our strengths are multiplied. We can welcome or wave goodbye. We can lift or tear down. We can give or take. We can beat upon or massage. Together, the whole unit can Pray and heal.

Diversity, having different vantage points, is our advantage to solving Any problem. You don’t have to be an entire hand to have a solution, or to be a positive part of it. We each bring our own perspective, strength, and power. Together we can solve anything.

Remember that, the next time you hear a thumb spouting Thumb rhetoric, if you’re a Pinky. When you feel someone loudly proclaiming Middle-finger views, just remember that all perspectives together create the solutions as well as the problems.

The middle finger never could say “You’re OK!” very well, (I wouldn’t try it!). Yet the thumb, or maybe a combination of thumb and forefinger together in a circle can say it quite easily. For each perspective, ability, or “dis”ability, there is another perspective or ability that balances it.

By supporting each other, and honoring diversity, we gain the advantage of strength.