When I think outside the box, magical things happen. But somewhere along the line I learned to shut my mouth, to be ashamed. I’m done with that.
Imagine being able to toss your limitations, shame and old beliefs about yourself into a bonfire of flames. Burn them up and let them go.
I used to belong to an online community of wonderful, mindfully present, dynamic women. Our intimate group met regularly by phone and in an online forum, where we shared and nurtured our wisdom, hope, fears, joys and inspiration with one another.
In that forum, we created a virtual bonfire. Each of us would mindfully toss into the fire stories about ourselves that no longer served us. The inner stories that reside in our core, that we learned early in our lives. The beliefs were never true but negatively affected and informed how we moved forward in the world.
It was a symbolic gesture. We envisioned burning the stories as a mindful acknowledgement that we were no longer slaves to them in our present lives.
I miss that bonfire. So I decided to create one here for you and I to share today. I invite you to come stand around the fire with me. Bring your own old, worn out, useless stories and toss them into the flames.
Letting go of old shame.
The fire is stoked and starting to crackle brilliant embers into the darkness of the night sky, ready to embrace and transform our old shame.
I’ll go first… I’m tossing into the flames the idea that my most creative ideas are actually quite stupid.
See, I know intellectually that I have a powerful creative streak. When I think outside the box, magical things happen.
But inside, at the core, somewhere along the line I learned to shut my mouth, to be ashamed of my creativity. I remember several instances in my early years where, intentionally or not, others’ comments or actions taught me to be ashamed of my creativity.
I didn’t want those messages. Tried not to let them get to me. But here I am years later, still feeling and acting out the shame when it comes time for me to create. The shame appears as writer’s block, fear of performing music in front of others, reluctance to show anyone my drawings or paintings, and more.
Bah, I’m done with it. Tossing it into the fire so that I can celebrate my creativity with passion and quiet confidence. Feel it transform.
Burn, baby… burn.
How about you? Got any stories of your own you’d like to watch shrivel into ashes?
THE CONVERSATION: Let's Talk About Tossing Limitations Into The Flames
The ideas on this site may touch something inside that makes you go, "Aha! Yes!" Some may irritate you because they don't apply or you don't agree.
Both are equally valuable.