When Things Fall Apart

photo by Zanthia

I have been observing the inner and outer landscapes of my world and it is fascinating to see how mirrored they have been.  With the falling of foreign regimes, the growing backlash against the financial establishment on Wall Street, and the repercussions of bottoming-out local governmental budgets… it would appear that things are indeed falling apart.

Upon first glance, it can appear rather alarming and down-right scary to see all of these institutions, that have been foundational elements of the world I grew up in, starting to crumble and fall away.

What will happen next?  What will rise up in its place…this is the gap where trust and faith live.  If I bring my attention back to the cycles of life than I am reminded that in order for something new to be born, the old must first whither and fall away.  That is the process we are in right now…the death and dying of those things in the world that no longer serve.

The new way, the way born of love and unity consciousness, the way of collaboration and partnership, the way of service to others via loving service to ourselves is being ushered in.

I can feel this same falling away process happening within myself.   Over this past year there has been a dismantling of a complex structure of protections, safeguards, and safety nets that were all constructed during my early years to “keep me safe” from additional harm.  There were wounds that I acquired via “life” and the result was the building of walls.  These walls became so tall and thick that their original purpose of “keeping me safe” was actually keeping me from really living.

So in a committment to greater love of myself and love of the miracle of life, I have been on quite an experimental journey of deconstructing these walls, these protections, layer by layer.  In the beginning, it was terrifying because I only knew how to view life from behind the protective layer of these walls.

Yet through the beauty of baby steps I have continued to be willing to risk chipping away the inner fortress, brick by brick.  Even though the process has been long, often exhausting, and the immediate process of “the work” has been uncomfortable, I continue to collect convincing evidence that doing “the work” will not kill me as I previously believed it might.

I can feel the truth of the Anais Nin’s words flowing through my inner and outer daily experience.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

It is worth the risk of blossoming, even when it feels temporarily excruciating.  It is worth the risk of living into the fullness of my life both inside and out.  Yet it is a choice that I alone must make for myself.  And it is my hope that each and every other person that I share this planet with is in the process of making a similar choice.  What will the world look like then?

What choice might you make today that will lead you further on your journey toward blossoming?