Josh hopped onto the seat and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. His excitement was palpable. He showed no sign of first time driver nerves.
I managed to squeeze into the seat next to him. It was, after all, designed for children.
With a jolt the open-topped little car rolled forward along the tram line. First came a bend to the right. Josh turned the wheel to the right like a pro. Then a turn to the left. With unfettered confidence he spun the wheel to the left.
Next came a stretch of straight open road (all twelve feet of it). Josh held the wheel steady until, maybe from boredom or, more likely, impelled by the natural confidence of a curious five year old, he began turning the wheel to the right.
No response. The car trundled on in a straight line. Determined to go off road he spun the wheel to the left. Again, no response. The little car stayed faithful to its design and clung to the tram rail.
Ahead, another turn to the right appeared. This time, Josh became defiant. As the little car began to turn right he spun the wheel to the left. The car kept turning right, as it was destined.
Josh slumped back disappointed and disillusioned. His hands fell off the wheel and, yes, the car trundled along turning right and left, until it came to a stop at the boarding station.
His bubble had burst.
He had believed the car was real. He believed he was in control at the wheel. He believed he determined how his journey went. And when his experience failed to deliver what his mind had dreamed up to be true, he took the revelation of reality as a personal failure and was devastated.
It was heartbreaking but it didn’t make sense to ask him to explain his upset or he “gave up” driving. I knew his natural intelligence would restore this momentary forgetting of the ability to know the difference between what is real and what is not.
Thirty minutes and two scoops of ice cream later, I asked Josh what he wanted to do next. “Let’s try out the big ride,” he said. I replied, “Oh, the one you thought might be scary?” Without hesitation, he replied, “Yeah, let’s go!”
The thing is, when we’re children, “reality check” moments, even if they feel harsh, are potent, learning moments. They offer the child brain and nervous system a vital upgrade to anchor the ability to navigate the world with a clear sense of what is real and what is imagined.
But if we’re not granted the opportunity to explore our dream to be a race car driver, artist, lover, scientist, truth teller, healer, entrepreneur or any number of authentic desires, or when we’re not held lovingly and steady in a burst bubble moment, our capacity to trust that life always shows “the way” to live aligned with love and authenticity, and ability to rest in the happiness and clarity or our true nature gets distorted.
Sooner or later the pain of bottled up potential becomes an undeniable impulse to break free of the constraints of the mind-made beliefs that keep our potential and enthusiasm for life suppressed.
The tricky thing is by the time we acknowledge we’re not living an authentic life, we usually have a mountain of reasons why it’s too late and too risky to branch out.
Happily, it’s never too late to dissolve misinformed beliefs that veil the truth of who we really are and what we’re here for. Nor is it ever too late to experience the wholeness and contentment of our true self and express our deepest desires in life.
So, the next time the bubble pops, allow the pain and heartbreak to be like a tidal wave meeting a sandy beach where it dissolves and returns to the ocean of pure potential.
Let go the conclusion that “you failed,” “weren’t up to it” or “it was never meant to be.” Allow what happened to integrate as wisdom to clarify and refine your next step to express your Self.
The Awakening Circle
Join us for the next Awakening Circle. It’s our regular monthly gathering where limiting beliefs unravel. To reveal the happiness, peace and wholeness of your true nature which allows you to live as freedom, love and infinite creative potential. Join live or get the recording.
Click here: The Awakening Circle
Awaken Your Heart 2022
This six week course is foundational. It forms the basis of all of my classes, webinars, 1-1 sessions and writing.
It will help you make a fundamental shift away from a fear based, limited, ego-identity to being rooted in the peace, love, presence and potential of your true self. To navigate life with clarity, perspective and solutions that serve your own desires and the needs of the world.
Find out more: Awaken Your Heart 2022
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https://fionamoore.com/heart-notes/
With appreciation and love,
Fiona
