Trust, Be Ready, Be Expectant - Release What Holds You Back
In this chaotic world we live in, it can seem almost impossible to find a break. We feel demands placed upon us by ourselves, our culture, our families, our friends, our jobs, and anything else to which we give our power.
For me, stillness often comes when I am in the car, simply driving. Sometimes I listen to a podcast, and other times I sit quietly with my thoughts. Some of my clearest moments come while I am driving. The road moves beneath me, but inside the car, everything becomes still.
It took me a long time to find that stillness, especially within my own thoughts, personal judgments, and self-deprecation.
On this particular day, while I was driving, I started thinking about the people who are no longer in my life. I wondered, “Why did those relationships have to end?”
Even when I understand why a relationship ended, there are still moments when I miss who that person once was to me.
Then I heard a voice say, “They were anchors—tethers keeping you from your potential.”
I realized that I had to remove the tethers holding me back from where my energy, Source, and soul were taking me. These were not necessarily bad people, nor were those relationships meaningless. Some of them had once protected me, loved me, or helped me survive. But what had once held me steady had eventually begun to hold me back.
Tethers and anchors can be things or people that once provided protection, security, or strength. They can be people who were once our person—a best friend, a mother figure, or even members of our own family. Tethers can also be belief systems, religions, or other things we once relied upon to keep us safe.
What once supported us can eventually prevent us from moving forward.
As I continued driving, the word tethers stayed with me. Then an image began to form in my mind.
I saw a field filled with hot-air balloons.
The field was full of them, and every balloon was unique. Not one was the same. They were different shapes and sizes, with different colors and patterns.
These balloons represented humanity.
We all have different life experiences. Every one of us is different and beautiful. Our experiences create the colors and patterns that make each of us unique.
There was, however, one thing that was the same about every balloon: each one had a very small basket.
We are limited in what we can carry.
It is important for us to release the things that no longer serve us. We must remove the fears that keep us stuck and confront the limiting beliefs that tell us:
“You are not good enough.”
“You are not strong enough.”
“You do not deserve what you want.”
“You cannot do that thing.”
“You cannot go to that place.”
These are the lies we may have been told. They are also the lies we repeat over and over to ourselves.
Some of the things we carry are incredibly heavy. They weigh us down and create density. We must be willing to look at where these tethers, anchors, and weights exist within our lives.
The basket was never designed to carry every version of us. It cannot hold every wound, every expectation, and every voice from our past while still allowing us to rise.
Trust
We must kneel down, take action, and remove each tether one by one.
Removing the things that keep us on the ground can be frightening. When we are on the ground, we cannot see our full potential through the trees.
But as we remove each tether, we rise a little higher. We feel the release. We feel the rush.
Fear begins to transform into excitement as we rise and begin our journey.
As we continue to rise and take flight, we move above the treetops. The world begins to open before us, and we are able to see infinite possibilities.
Trusting does not mean having no hesitation. It means choosing to enter the basket despite that hesitation.
Trust means accepting that we may not know exactly where we are going. It means being willing to step into the basket before the path becomes visible.
Be Ready
We are all at different stages in our journeys.
Some balloons are still being unfurled, and their colors and patterns cannot yet be seen. Other balloons are being filled with air, and we can see them beginning to take shape. Still others remain on the ground, but they stand tall, firm, and proud as they prepare for flight.
No matter what stage each person—or balloon—is in, it is all beautiful.
We can find beauty wherever we are, even on the ground. There are still the colors of the trees, the grass, and the flowers.
There is beauty no matter where we are.
Before we can fly, however, we must get ready.
The first part of being ready is getting into the basket. We must set the intention and declare, “Yes, I am ready.”
We must consider what preparations we are making for the journey. Do we have enough fuel? Is our basket secure? Have all the tethers been removed?
Some balloons are just beginning to lift off the ground for the first time. As we look across the field, we can see many different balloons at many different levels.
There is no judgment about where any of them are.
There is only a vast array of color.
Be Expectant
As we venture forward in our balloons, we may have an idea of the direction in which the wind is blowing.
But as we rise into the experience, the wind will move each of us differently.
The best course of action is to allow the wind to carry us.
There may be a particular place we would like to go, but the wind may carry us somewhere unexpected—somewhere beyond our imagination, somewhere magical.
Perhaps it will carry us somewhere we were meant to go all along.
Trust. Set the intention.
Be ready. Do the inner work.
What are you carrying that no longer belongs in your basket?
Be expectant.
Allow the Universe—Source—to surprise you.