Love and Touching Both Sides on the Long Road

I've touched both sides of life, the brutal and the beautiful and I can and will build myself back from zero, over and over again if I have to. In a less extreme way I do that already, by stretching my comfort zones and facing over and over again the places in me where I'm close to zero. Building them up, then protecting them, nurturing them as they continue to grow and inter-connect with my other sides.

So, regardless of the circumstance or the pressure and pain in all facets of my life, the effort cost will never dissuade me from continuing to build. I know better than to trust the two-step hustle of the comfort of surrender and I will never cross that line again.

I'm dedicated to that long winding road of a full life. I don't do this to be better than others or attain what others have... most of the time that image of what they have is shallow and limited and I'm past all that. I have abundance, I am enough. But once you get past the stress of achieving enough; there is an opportunity for deeper motivations that are not derived from the pressure to succeed and the pressure to measure up. Those deeper motivations come from achieving deeper access and inter-connection to who we are. You get to create for yourself, rather than prove yourself.

How do I explain this? When you've worked on the long road as long as I have, the adaptations make the long road a pretty fucking amazing place to be. The shortcut road feels like shit in contrast. Because on the long road you get to experience the manifestation of the development and expression of all the humble little things that a person misses out on with the shortcut road. I get to harvest the fruits of the full process over and over again, with it building and stacking in a synergy with every revolution of that spiraling pathway. Does it fucking hurt sometimes? Yes. It's as brutal as it is beautiful. But while I touch both sides, I also have the freedom of choice to decide what areas of those sides I build my home upon. People who stay on the short road don't have that scope of access, that depth. They haven't opened those doors, dealt with their firewalls and gained the keys on the other side. Me on the other hand, I happily burn and walk through over and over again, with as many scars as keys hanging from my hip.

Living like this gives me access to everything I want. I want more than just success, the how of my success, the richness and meaning is just as important. So yea, I'll always take the long road for the things that are the most precious for me. I keep what I harvest on that long road because it's internalized deep inside me, and I don't take the short-cuts that would make those things dull and atrophy. This sentiment is also expressed in the quality of the relationship I share with my wife. It hasn't dulled or atrophied, because I don't take short-cuts with her. Desire, appreciation, gratification, gratitude, humor, hope, love, passion, trust and meaning are all given the long road treatment.

David Dunn is the husband of Skye Burns-Dunn. David has spent much of his life working on understanding why things are thought, done, and felt in the ways that we speak of them. He wants to touch all sides of life to better understand so that he can continue growing as a balanced man, whilst also inspiring and helping others along the way. He and Skye are creating youtube videos to discuss personal growth, relational healing and growth...and many other encouraging, healing aspects of all sides of life.