It's been hot. That sticky heat that screams 100% humidity. Peoples' attitudes are being pushed into a negative flow. Yesterday it seemed that hot and bothered came to a crescendo in the the faces and feelings of the people I encountered.
I heard a woman in church lamenting about the humidity, saw a disgruntled father riding herd over three children and dripping ice cream cones, and heard a group of people having a heavy discussion about all the chaos dragging through the world . . .
Days like these pull you away from being upbeat and feeling connected to your inner muse. It seems like all my creativity and inspiration melted with the humidity and the projects and work I needed them for were just as sticky and oppressive as the heat.
With sundown and the night settling in I detected a definite shift in how I was feeling. The air had noticeably cooled as I sat in a lawn chair in the darkness. The night sounds of the locust were the only music to break the silence.
I peered up into the blackness of the night sky and saw a million stars overhead and suddenly felt very small and amazed at the limitlessness before me. This magnificent display made me also think about the limitlessness of our own possibilities in life in general. How can one sit in the midst of such majesty and feel any limitations?
Do you believe in the limitlessness of your experience as a human being---or do you create limits or boundaries for yourself. There are so many people who have "disabilities" that move through their lives inspired, happy and doing what they want. Their "disabilities" don't confine or define them and they certainly don't hold them back.
People looking on may be held back by what they perceive with their minds as "disabilities" these people are "enduring". I used to teach beginning swimming to teens and special needs children. I remember one day two of the teens were moody and in a snit about something and their immediate refrain was "I can't".
They had set up an attitude in their minds and their behavior that said "I can't" was who they were.
I asked these teens to stay late and to watch the lesson for the special needs children. What those teens learned that day as they watched was that we create our own limits.
The special needs kids had physical and mental disabilities . . .in a broad range but they were excited and did not let anything hold them back from conquering the challenges that the pool held for them. It was clear for these teens that "I can't" was not part of the mindset of the kids they watched that day in the special needs program.
I was reminded of this experience as I thought about a new statue of Helen Keller that was unveiled at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. It is a wonderful depiction of Helen Keller as a girl at the well hand pump. Learning to connect with her environment and herself through touch, despite her "disabilities". Refusing to accept limitations Helen Keller thirved in her life and was a pioneer for all of those who have to overcome "disabilities" throughout the world.
Our mind can be our biggest enemy or our strongest ally. Which is it for you?? Refusing to set ourselves up with limitations is the first step toward limitless possibilities.
How do you let your mind describe you and how you experience yourself in the human condition?
How would you describe yourself? Do you have an openness to possibilities, to a strong belief in yourself . . .?
When you are open to the belief of the limitlessness of your experience as a human you have taken the first step to connect with your strongest ally.
Pick a clear night and sit outside at about midnight and look up into the firmament. Revel in the limitlessness you see before you and take the time to ponder your own possibilities. What possibilities can life hold for you in the future?
