Its first instinct when feeling threatened is to place nails at its feet.
(Anna G)
I’m not afraid… but… but I’m afraid. I shouldn’t have left the cage. What am I going to do? I’m feeling very vulnerable right now. Let’s get some protection. Nails… I saw nails… that will do. But I must not step on them. I won’t or I’ll end up getting hurt.
Or, I’m sick of being stepped on. I’ve had enough! I’m going to protect myself from now on.
Is this the kind of self-talk that goes on in your mind when you have been at the receiving end of repeated betrayal, backstabbing and bullying? You want to fight back but you’re also afraid of the consequences. So you try to retaliate. But your weapon of choice, in this case, is a bed of nails. It can hurt an oncoming predator but it can also hurt You!
This is your fear talking! Fear is irrational and unreasonable. It generates panic. You can’t fly even if you have wings. So your best thought out plans are likely to fail.
Don’t give in to fear! Reject it. Fear is telling you that you have to lash out so that you won’t get stepped on again. That’s a lie. Even if you are a victim, any plans to hurt others because they’ve hurt you, will backfire. When you hurt others intentionally, you’ll reap what you sow even if you think your actions are justified. You’ll only hurt yourself whilst trying to extract your revenge.
It doesn’t pay. So STOP! Let go and forgive those who hurt you not because they were right or that you invited such abuse. Forgiveness is releasing yourself from being bound emotionally and psychologically to the person who have hurt you. You’re breaking off the soulish connection with them. You want to be released from this unhealthy relationship. That’s why you forgive them. You choose to forgive for yourself, not theirs.
You can overcome this. You just have to be prepared to let go of some things. What you imagine life would be outside the cage may not be quite what it is. But its okay. You’re free. Really free, if you allow yourself to adapt to your new environment. Hold on to what really matters. Remember that’s what drove you to get out of the cage. Don’t look back and long for ease of an imprisoned life. Change if you must, you’re free now. It may be a little hard right now but it’ll get better. We all adapt.
The important thing now is that you can choose. You just have to learn to make good choices. You don’t have to be right all the time. It make take time. There is no instant solutions. You may stumble now and then, but it’s okay. You’re okay. You’ll get better. It may not be as convenient some times but you’ll grow from the experience. Don’t allow yourself to long for what you have left behind. What have you left behind? Bad relationships, abuse, mental, physical? Remind yourself, they were bad. You deserve better. So look forward instead.
Tell yourself it is good now, it’s better, you’ll adapt, you will overcome. You’re no porcelain bird.
Artist: Lydia C. Text: Anna G.
The Battle of the Beetles
On the slope of Long’s Peak in Colorado lies the ruin of a gigantic tree. Naturalists tells us that it stood for some four hundred years. It was a seedling when Columbus landed at San Salvador, and half-grown when the pilgrims settled at Plymouth.
During the course of its long life it was struck by lightning 14 times and the innumerable avalanches and storms of four centuries thundered past it. It survived them all. In the end, however, an army of beetles attacked the tree and levelled it to the ground.
The insects ate their way through the bark and gradually destroyed the inner strength of the tree by their tiny but incessant attacks. A forest giant which age had not withered nor lightning blasted, nor storms subdued, fell at last before beetles so small that a man could crush them between his forefinger and his thumb. There is a parallel in this story which should serve as a warning to us.
Most of us can survive times of crisis. We summon the strength of faith or resolve for most any battle that we face head on. Whether it is in our professional or personal lives, we often overcome great obstacles. It is the small things like jealousy, anger, resentment, pettiness and negativity that eat us from the inside, which often bring about our downfall. Unlike a giant tree, we can identify and fight those moral or ethical “beetles”. We must however, be constantly on guard.
