Let me tell you one, or maybe two, fun facts about mirrors and reflections!

Okay, so first, I made a commitment to post on my blog on Wednesdays. Usually, I have an idea on what to write but do you know what’s crazy? I always end up changing my mind on the topic at the very last minute.

I wonder why this happens. Not once but consistently. When I sat back and reflected, I figured it was because something I can relate to, which also deserves a place on this blog, always ends up popping up at the very last minute.

And that was exactly what happened today!

It’s funny because as I was about to start writing, I suddenly remembered my time in law school. I remember the very first day one of my law professors gave us the shock of our lives.

That day was a typical day. I wore my crisp white and black outfit and waited for my Contract Law professor to come in. As he entered the classroom, he started teaching us what the course content was.

But that day, he said something that stuck with me.

He told us to manage our expectations because the law in the books is different, very different from how it is in practice. I thought deeply about this and if I were being honest, I’d say I thought I had it at the back of my mind.

But at some point, I think I forgot what my professor said. I didn’t realize this until I started talking to one of my mentors.

One day, this mentor and I met and we started talking about a very contentious area of International Economic Law. To contextualize it, this area of law shows the difference existing between rich and poor countries and how the rules we have today favor the former and not the latter.

This area was and is still very dear to my heart. I am passionate about it. I even wrote a thesis about it. A thesis with over 180 pages!

But I was shocked to my bones when he said the position had changed.

“A lot of people and countries have dumped what you wrote about because it simply wasn’t working.” He said.

“It was tried and tested. It was an idea and ideal that someone came up with.

It was meant to protect some people from certain countries and their interest.

But guess what? It didn’t. It failed. And so, the same people who created the old rules have now built new systems to govern their relationships so they can interact and do business more efficiently simply because of what happened in practice.”

Hmmmmm. This was a gut punch! It’s crazy! I thought about how relevant my thesis was but given the situation today and the change that’s ongoing, is it relevant? Maybe but it definitely had its time and place at one point.

Apparently, the poorer countries inherited most of these rules after they gained independence because that was what they found in place. Think of it this way, there was a gap, and the preexisting rules came to fill them up.

Unfortunately, the poorer countries have realized that the rules were never created for them. They inherited a tried and tested system that failed them. The law in the books was different from their reality.

It was time for change.

I thought this was interesting.

And do you know what’s even more interesting? The fact that we, as humans, have certain ideals we live by.

We say what we want to do and sometimes, we may even end up doing what we say we want. But how does it play out, not just in theory but in the lives of others?

Think about it. We put systems in place. Sometimes, we call them values. Other times we say they are beliefs. But do we even realize where they come from? Do we pause and question why somethings we theorized so much about now become the reality that we live by? Where does this theory even come from? Is it from our lived experiences?

Of course, our background affects how we show up as people, but do we even think about how our theories, even when they become our idealized reality, affect the reality of others?

Like the rules in the very contentious area of law which I also happen to be passionate about, the systems we thought we put in place to protect us may actually not be doing so. It may be doing the opposite of what we actually created it for. It may not be obvious now, but perhaps, it will in future.

It’s one thing to understand why we create systems that’s important to us. It’s another thing to see if they are working. You could be scared and afraid because questioning will torpedo what you’ve always known.

But the step to journeying within begins with questions. Questions that should make you curious. And curiosity will certainly lead you to answers.

Once you find your answers, you’ll create better systems that serve you personally and relationally.

It will serve you.

It will serve your future.

And your future will thank you.