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Old beliefs stand in the way of realizing your full potential. Maybe it’s time to clear your path.
If you’re like me, you want to clear out EVERY negative aspect of yourself, from the ego-driven sarcastic statement deliverer, to the overly critical observer catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It seems like it’s a never-ending torturous path of whacking away the non-serving belief systems with our spiritual machetes. Yet some of those beliefs are rooted so deeply that we never really see the whole thing, and so it never really goes away.
A machete won’t do that. You gotta dig out the roots.
OH GREAT! More processing! More tears! More lessons to learn.
Well, yeah. That is always going to accompany a physical incarnation. That’s why we come here. Yet you could look at those beliefs in a different, more gentle way. One that gets you to the core so you can pull up that mofo, roots and all, for good.
Let’s take an old, outworn belief, and imagine it’s a prickly bush. It’s knee-high, and spiky, and you keep running into it because it’s in the path you take every day; and because your attention is elsewhere while you’re walking.
You really know that your path would be easier without smacking into those damn thorns every time you start walking, but you also know that pulling it out would require tools, and thick gloves, since your bare hands would be a bloody mess if you tried to just yank it out of the ground while passing by.
So you continuously sidestep the bush, hoping to avoid scratching yourself, and so far you’ve been managing. But sometimes, every once in a while, you forget it’s there, and you walk straight into the bush…and the painful scratches are your reminder that you really need to just pull the damn thing out.
You may imagine all the effort it would take, finding gloves, and time, and the proper frame of mind to tackle the situation. And when you encounter such obstacles, the self-bashing begins.
- “I don’t have the time to pull out this bush. I’ll do it next week.”
- “The roots run really deep and I may need a shovel to get way down. I don’t have a shovel.”
- “Even with gloves, I might still get some scratches. I don’t want that pain right now.”
- “Who the fuck planted this stupid bush in my path anyway? It’s their damn fault.”
And I don’t even have to tell you this, but bushes grow. Both upwards, further into your line of sight…and downwards, extending their roots deeper into the ground.
It doesn’t matter who planted the bush. Could have been you. Could have been someone authoritative from the past. You can spend your time cursing the bush, or blaming the bush, or hating the bush. But the bush is there. And it’s your path, and it’s your responsibility to pull the fucker out.
So how to remove the bush with the least amount of time, effort, and scrapes?
You soak the ground with water.
The moisture loosens the dirt around the bush, creating a softer surrounding environment, thus making it easier to pull the whole thing up, roots and all.
The water in this case, is neutrality.
By softening the foundation supporting the bush—or looking at the situation from a neutral standpoint, rather than one of self-judgment or blame—you facilitate the removal of the whole thing, with less effort. And then you can move on with your life with a clear trail ahead of you.
Could you get scratched? Well, sure, you could get a few scrapes, but you’ve got your gloves, and other tools that you’ve gathered over the years to address “bush” issues! A few scratches on the arms far outweigh the burden of sidestepping a growing, perpetually painful belief system that constantly inhibits your journey.
The use of neutrality is a skill that will benefit you in all areas of your life. Not just pulling out bushes, but dealing with your beliefs about people with opposing views, your beliefs about your self-worth, or your feelings about your place in society.
Allowing things to be as they are, without constantly creating a story around them, is like softening the foundation. It gives you the ability to observe these concerns without the judgment, to review your belief, and then update it to reflect the new You. In all honesty, the bush wouldn’t be prickly if it weren’t meant to be addressed in some way.
And each time you pull out a bush, you will encounter fewer and fewer of them along your path. You’ll then walk with your eyes up, rather than continuously looking down for thorns.
author: Kimberly
