We can be so caught up in the madness that sometimes resides in our hearts, our minds, that we can forget the rest of the story. And the rest is exactly what we need the most; what can get us through the dark days.
We are not just one story. As multidimensional beings, we are multiple different stories at once.
The answer is inside, within you, but you come in the way of it.
The good news is you can also get yourself out of the way.
The internal pressure often begins on the outside, but when the pressure seizes from the outside, we start to create it on the inside. Perhaps, at that point, we have already internalized the pressure.
To illustrate this, a story that I learned during a meditation course comes to mind, paraphrased in my own words.
There was a group of women traveling inside the dark side of the cave where they saw shadows of some monsters. The women stopped in their tracks, hiding from an unknown monster (they had heard rumors of them previously). They were scared to move because they saw shadows of these ‘monsters’ so they remained frozen for a long, long time.
Then one woman thought it would a futile existence to just remain that way, and that she should go and find out more about this monster. She wanted to see if she could get to the world outside of the cave and experience freedom.
The rest warned her not to do it.
She didn’t listen.
When she left her side of the cave and slowly made her way outside of the walls of the cave they were in, she realized that it was her own shadow in the cave that was creating an illusion of a monster.
She tried telling the other women, but they begin to point out that “she could have been an exception,”
“there could be a big monster a bit further from that point,”
“they would rather be in the place they are in than possibly be eaten by a monster a bit later,”
“they had gotten comfortable where they were,”
and “it was safer where they were.”
So the woman left. She had to navigate alone in the darkness for a while but soon she discovered a new and fascinating world outside of the cave, while the rest of the women remained inside the cave.
Fear, worries, anxiety can feel like a ticking time bomb ready to explode. But what if, all it really needs is some perspective.
When you are experiencing something so intensely, whether it is a feeling of fear, need, a strong desire…. you can forget the rest of your story.
The rest of the truth, the rest of your reality.
When one voice gets to yell and scream inside of you, the rest gets quiet and nearly silenced.
Once we get comfortable somewhere, even when we are given much better alternatives that come with its risk (because nearly everything comes with some sort of risk in this life), we can get wary to accept those opportunities.
In the process, we can miss out on something wonderful.
May you be brave enough to leave your cave of fear of the known and unknown monsters.
And may you discover the brand new world that awaits you.
Refective questions?
What is your comfort zone?
How far from your comfort zone can you stray?
When was the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone and faced your fear?
What are some of your greatest fear?
If you knew with certainty that you will succeed in whatever you do, what would you do?
thank you for reminding us the basics. So easy to forget...