You are looking at the surface of the iceberg of course, that part of it that is exposed to your view... Fair enough!
But what about what you cant see, what about the hidden part? What about the real question:
“what’s beneath the tip of the iceberg?” How big is that gigantic mass that is hidden below the surface, under sea level?”
It’s almost impossible to calculate the portion that is hidden beneath only by looking the portion above the surface. According to the iceberg theory, what we see is the 20% of the total. So what about that rest 80%?
Looking beneath the surface means focusing on the deeper aspects of something. Not just remaining on what is easily identified but analyzing the deeper reality.
And that doesn’t mean one should value depth over surface.
It’s just that under the tip there is a huge field that remains unexplored.
Let’s start with our inner self…
There are all sorts of things that we do not know about ourselves. We must see beneath the surface because otherwise we will crash and sink. The biggest portion is hidden. The unconscious, the hidden desires, the strategies that without knowing we use to protect us from bad feelings, unacceptable thoughts, guilt, anxiety, mechanisms such as repression, denial, displacement, rationalization are all there as is the motivating force that drives us towards the accomplishment of our full humanness…..Everything is important, every force can be helpful if we use it in a more constructive way, if we do not deny it, if we give it a name and channel it correctly. We just want to change the proportion of the hidden mass that lies beneath.
It’s the analogy that matters.
It’s about transformation, changing the form and yet not knowing everything about the form. That is what wisdom is about contrary to knowledge.
Dive always so as to see underneath. Uncover the potential you hide and with focus, creativity, curiosity, perseverance, resilience, with all your talents, like a good explorer, bring it to the surface and let the sun warm it, bloom it , change its proportion, its form and realize that your hidden gigantic mass makes you float.
Otherwise you may remain cold, arctic and icy.
Bring an iceberg model analogy to your life and keep in mind that only a small percentage of who we are is visible. But the core of our values, emotions and actions stem from something deeper that is our power and remains under water. Our strengths and power are not always obvious but are more fascinating than what we portray on the surface.
However you choose to interpret the iceberg: as a metaphor , a theory of a the style of writing that believes that the story should not be evident on the surface but should shine through simplicity , a concept of culture or a theory of consciousness; keep in mind the analogy of hidden and visible about a situation and the fact that a bulk of data is always unavailable to us and it goes unnoticed.
So let’s all try to be empathic, genuine, with an unconditional positive regard towards ourselves and the other. Let’s stop judgments, try not to rely on first impressions but on the gut feeling, keep our eyes wide open and our mouths shut, pin down simple, not always complex, clear our mind from limiting beliefs, try to understand the other fully, follow the flow, be aware that we know absolutely nothing, be humble and present to every encounter, embrace all feelings, shift from superficial to extending processing, ask ourselves why we do things like that, how do we feel, how does something affect ourselves and the other and let’s remember from now on that we should stop looking inwards for a moment and try to not always pay attention to the obvious…!
So let’s be the ones to see a little deeper and be the ones to help others to experience this liberating opportunity. Of not knowing anything. Of not being able to see always clearly. Of believing that there is a lot more to understand than what one believes in.
And then in silence, we might see that despite our dark side and our defensiveness, we are guided by a hidden strongly positive directional tendency that is found in the deepest levels!!!