The Law of Correspondence

As above is so is below best captures the gist of the universal law of correspondence. Our outer world which is essentially our reality, is a mirror image of our inner world. In other words, what has horns cannot be hidden in a sack. Be that as it may, we may try to camouflage our hurt, insecurities, sins and fears from the outside view but somehow, they always seem to find a way to the surface regardless of how long it takes. All this is made possible courtesy of the law of correspondence which works like a charm. The more feathers a chicken has, the bigger it looks. However, outward looks are as deceitful as the devil. All is not lost since the law of correspondence unravels what is hidden below the surface hence giving us a true picture by revealing whether or not the chicken is as big as it looks.

The paradox of the law of correspondence is that your external environment influences your feelings. Likewise, your feelings can also prompt you to alter your external environment. The door swings both ways. The surest way to break the cycle and effect permanent change is to look inwards; separate the wheat from the chaff. In as much as the shadow work is tedious, the silver lining is that the embarrassing stuff is only known to you and you are better off dealing with it first before the law lets it out to all and sundry.

There is no better time to stir up an inward looking conversation than in the dog days after Christmas leading up to the New Year. A point in time whereby all the days are the same and no one can tell exactly what date it is. Most people tend to use Christmas as the frame of reference. Christmas was on Sunday and today is Tuesday, 2 days later. Therefore, it ought to be the 27th. Simple arithmetic at play. What an opportune moment to take stock and do a self-reflection. Therefore, it is a judicious topic selection because the law of correspondence highlights the interplay between our inner workings and external results whereas the New Year’s resolutions is a direct offshoot of internal reflection.

You can out distance that which is running after you, but you cannot out distance that which is running within you. This African proverb holds true for the most part. Over a decade ago, I fared well in my endeavor to rescue myself from the jaws of a self-defeatist attitude. Completing my college education seemed to be a tall order and a toxic environment played a role in cultivating the notion that I was going to fail before starting. The financial implication made it that much harder and the opportunity cost coupled with the issue of survival made it complex. However, it dawned on me and I came to the realization that the buck stops with me. Moving to a different environment solves half the equation. More so if you do so without doing the inner work first. The monkey is still the same in a different forest and if no change is involved, it will still jump as it did in the previous forest thus rendering the relocation decision null and void.

After a treacherous commute navigating through the wintry icy roads, I safely made it back to my humble abode one New Year’s eve several moons ago. A quick change of clothes and with a glass of whiskey in hand, I settled on the couch to watch an evening show. In a matter of time, the night got deftly quiet and as I continued to imbibe each sip, the spirit triggered my spirit to action. This seems to lend credence to the notion that we are more of spiritual than physical beings because in all honesty, a good decision came out of that thinking or drinking session.

A series of unfortunate events had forced me to take a short hiatus from formal education. Learning is a continuous process and I was learning elsewhere outside the confines of the classroom walls. It is during this period that I got multiple promotions in quick succession owing to my strong work ethic. Subsequently, the formal learning quest temporarily took the back burner position. Needed to save more or so I thought and within no time, I was caught up in a rat race. It takes a strong willpower to snap out of that race.

I made a firm resolution to resume formal education and set a firm deadline to actualize the goal. I formulated three pathways and set in motion plans that kicked off in earnest as soon as I took the last sip, way before the New Year countdown. I treated the process with the gravitas it deserved since my future hung in the balance. In a way, I seemed to be taking a leap of faith but the path became clearer with each effort. Had I not looked inward to seek a way forward, I would have continued to look for outward scapegoats to heap blame on and make little progress while at it. Plans in the first pathway blew up in flames. To cut the long story short, I beat the self-imposed deadline and after the dust settled I flew out of that country with two degrees. At one point this seemed improbable but I made it nonetheless. In conclusion, one ought to be cognizant of the fact that the quality of your thoughts determine the quality of your life. Therefore, the key lies within.