The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be captive of the environment in which you find yourself.
(Mark Caine)
Trapped! I can’t breathe, oh no there’s no way out! Or phew, I finally feel safe!
Two very different reactions to the same situation. Your perception does not need to determine how you respond to your environment. To some, a shelter feels claustrophobic, while to someone else, it’s a haven from danger. How you see your situation will reveal your state of mind. Keep calm. Don’t panic. Otherwise you’re the one who is confining yourself, whether you want to or not.
The environment you find yourself doesn’t predict your success or failure. Fear is the main culprit that makes one feel trapped and compels another to confine themselves.
How much you give in to fear and allow yourself to be swayed by how you see your circumstances, will play a huge part in what you choose to believe. Keep your eyes on the goal you’ve set for yourself.
If it has become fuzzy for you, then cling on to your faith. There is a God who is watching. Otherwise, how can there be two such different perceptions from the same environment? It’s still your choice as to what you choose to believe.
Don’t give up. There is hope. The bottle top is open and not closed. Whatever situation you find yourself in, don’t let fear overcome you. Although the storm may be outside the bottle, the danger is not necessarily the only thing out there.
Hope may be in there too. You are precious, don’t give up. Try to look at your situation differently. When you’re rested, you will be in a better position to figure out your options.
So let your faith rise up. Believe you can make better choices. Don’t let your failures in the past overwhelm you.
It takes more courage to face your problems than to give up on yourself. Cry out,”I’m not afraid.” You’re braver than you allow yourself to believe. Go for it. You have already experienced failure, just get up and try again. It’s not over until you choose to think so! The sun will rise again. Each new day brings new hope!
There is someone out there who may need your help too! Give yourself another chance. You can do it! Take that first step. Don’t let your environment or others make your choice for you, unless you’re only ten!
Artist: Lydia C. Text: Anna G.
Cherokee Indian Youth's Rite of Passage
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of passage? His father takes him blindfolded into the forest and leaves him on his own. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not take off the blindfold until the ray of sun shines through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night… he becomes a Man. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each boy must come into his own manhood.
It was this Cherokee Indian boy’s turn. He was terrified, he could hear all kinds of noise. Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human could hurt him. The wind blew the grass and earth and it shook the stump he was sitting on. But he sat stoically… never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could be a man.
Finally, after a horrific night… the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he saw his father… sitting on the stump next to him… at watch… the entire night.
We are never truly alone. Even when we do not know it, our family and friends are watching out for us, sitting on a stump beside us.
