Leap and the Net Will Appear. What a beautiful image that brings to mind. A fully confident person standing at the edge of the known and stepping off into the great unknown with a smile on their face and their arms outstretched as they soar confidently into nothingness. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Until it’s our turn.
In reality if we think of ourselves leaping, we likely imagine an unconfident person standing with shaky knees at the edge of the unknown and if we envision ourselves stepping off, it’s with arms flailing, wildly grasping at thin air to save us. Leap? Are you mad?
I’m one of those slow to warm people; those overly prepared people; those planned excitement people. Yet I too have dreams of soaring into uncharted territory and living the life of my dreams. So, just how does one take that leap with out going into a tailspin? My solution was to write. I wrote about my life, my past, present, and future. I dreamed on paper. I just wrote. And it worked. I learned to take baby steps to the edge. I learned what were reasonable fears, and what fears were actually blocks for moving forward. I came to acknowledge my fears and do it anyway. I want to share this process with you. I want you to write too. I want you to discover your own unique qualities that you want to keep, enhance or let go of. I want us to go on our own private Journey Within together.
And the best part about it is that you don’t have to know what you’re going to write about. Just put your pen to paper and let your thoughts guide you. This is called the hot-pen method of writing, or stream of consciousness, or a variety of other names, but it’s just allowing what comes into your thoughts to get onto paper, and it works. You don’t have to be a gifted writer, or a good speller, or even use punctuation. Just let those thoughts flow and get them down into your journal. Your subconscious will do all the work. You will go where you need to go. You will take your own Journey Within and live your life with greater clarity and joy and purpose.
If you’ve always wanted to do something and fear has stopped you, write about your fears. Make a list of all your fears. Which ones are reasonable (fear of poisonous snakes), understandable (fear of all snakes because you don’t know how to tell the difference between poisonous and nonpoisonous) and limiting (fear of taking a walk in a city park because you might see a snake).
Spend this week journaling on some of your fears. It doesn’t matter which ones you start with. Trust your subconscious to begin where you need to begin. Just write what ever comes to mind. Don’t judge, and don’t over-think it, just get that pen moving for 15 minutes each day. See what comes up for you.
You might find there’s more work to be done with your fears. If this is so, list some steps you can take that will help you deal with a fear. You might decide on professional counseling, or a support group in your area, or further research on your own to allay your fears. Don’t force anything; just notice what comes up for you in your writing. Notice if you get a feeling in your body when you think of your fears. Notice if that feeling comes up at other times in your life. Write about that feeling. Get to know your body and how it speaks to you. Stay in touch with your body as you work your way through your fears. Most of us need more than a week to leave our limiting fears behind, but this is a great place to start. A great place to get to know yourself, a great beginning and until next week, your next step.
