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The leap into growth
I once heard a wonderful story that I want to share with you. I wish I could remember where I heard it so I could give proper credit, but I’ll just try to do it justice in the telling!
The Master said: “Jump!” but the students were afraid, and did not jump.
The Master again said: “Jump!” but the students were still afraid, and did not jump.
For a third time, the Master said: “Jump!” but the students still did not jump.
So he pushed them.
At times, our path of personal and spiritual growth does indeed feel like we are being asked to jump off a very tall cliff. We look into the unknown and are afraid. We stand at the edge of our expansion, knowing that one single leap could change everything. Fear keeps us stuck, unwilling to take that leap.
If we’re very lucky, we have someone in our lives who gives us a push. A teacher, a friend, a counselor, an intuitive professional, a spouse, a co-worker, a parent. In the moment of the pushing, we do not like them very much. They challenge us, and sometimes we perceive them as the obstacle in our life. Sometimes, if we’re truly bogged down in our comfort zone, life itself will conspire to toss us over the edge of our own perceived limitations. Our circumstances seem to crumble around us, making forward movement no longer a matter of choice, but of survival.
Who or what is pushing you out of your comfort zone right now? Honor these people and situations as your master teachers. They are serving you on your path, perhaps in ways you don’t appreciate right now. It may seem that they are conspiring to make you fall into the abyss of the unknown. But perhaps, as you go over that cliff, you realize that you are not falling - you are flying!
What cliff are you afraid to jump off? Leave your comment and share … and maybe we can all serve to give each other a little shove!
Blessings,
Andrea
February 28th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Your story reminds me of the time that my son Jeremy was in the 5th grade. At Christmas time that year, his glass had worked on a Christmas program when they learned to play a song by ringing bells. Jeremy and the whole class worked really hard to learn their parts. The morning of the performance, Jeremy got a terrible case of stage fright. He was almost frozen by his fear. He begged me to let him stay home from school that morning. I knew that he could do this if he could get past his fears.
The hardest thing that I have ever done as a mother was to force him to go to school. We followed the bus to the school that morning because I wasn’t sure that he would actually stay on the bus and go to school. We got to the school. He went to his class while we went to the auditorium. The Christmas program was during the first period of the day.
Jeremy performed quite well along with the rest of the class. After he started, he forgot his fear and was able to play his part in the program. When he got home that afternoon, he was glad that I had forced him to go to school. He was still excited about the program.
I had no idea if I was doing the right thing or not by forcing him to go to school. Something told me it was what he needed to do or in the future anytime that Jeremy was faced with fears, he would give into them rather than attempt to do what needed to be done. Thank God that it turned out ok.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Patricia, that’s a great story! You were the master that gave that much-needed push, and you really served your son!
I’m not, of course, advocating that we go around pushing each other continually, but I think if we’re discerning and listen to our instincts, like you did, we can truly sometimes assist each other in this way.
I think the distinction here is that there is no ego involved in the pushing. You weren’t invested in whether your son performed in his program or not, so you could really act on his behalf, rather than on your own.
Thank you so much for this great illustration!
Blessings,
Andrea
February 28th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Andrea,
Considering our chat yesterday, I have to say “Wow, was is this post timely or what?” I had not read this article when we spoke — remember the metaphor I grabbed at? Something about my need to not only leap, but to go ahead and leap big — “If I’m going to jump off a cliff, why not just make it an airplane while I’m at it?”
Experience has taught me to embrace leaps of faith, and I don’t think I ever regret them. The bigger the jump, the scary the prospect, the greater ground I end up covering. Still, it helps to have someone give you a shove… So I bless you for playing that role for me. Thank you!
Slade
February 28th, 2008 at 9:11 am
This is what I know:
It is not usually the jump that I am afraid of- it is acknowledging the cliff. So for me it is the resistance to the climb- once I arrive there- it is with joy that
I JUMP (Joyfully Unload My Problems!)
Blessings!
Penni
February 28th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Your story is a poem by Rabindranath Tagore
Juanjo
February 28th, 2008 at 9:32 am
The final line says : And they flew
February 28th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Penni,
VERY cool comment — I love your acronym Joyfully Unload My Problems, and your distinction about acknowledging the cliff.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Hi Slade - I’m so glad I could serve you! The funny thing is (and isn’t this just how this goes around and around) that this article was inspired by some major pushes I’m currently getting from my own teacher. It’s just perfect how we give and receive in balance, isn’t it? Weren’t you telling me about how you challenged one of your clients about his rates, too? I love how we all serve each other as teachers AND students … we’re all in both roles, all the time.
Penni - I love the acronym, too. And how wonderful that you have so much awareness of your process - it’s the cliff, not the jump, that is the greater obstacle for you. Thank you so much for adding that, because I’m sure it’s true for others, also.
Juanjo - Thank you - do you perhaps have the entire poem? Your comment prompted me to do a little more searching on Google, and I did find this poem by Guillaume Apollinaire:
Come to the edge, He said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, He said.
They came. He pushed them,
And they flew . . .
I’d love to see the Tagore poem, if you’d be so kind to share it!
Blessings to all,
Andrea
February 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am
The whole time that I was pushing my son to do this, I was terrified that I might be doing the wrong thing but something was telling me that I had to do it for his own good or he would forever allow his fears to control his life.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Andrea - I love this post. It reminds me of something Dr. Wayne Dyer talks about in his “The Secrets to Manifesting Your Destiny” lecture series. He talks about when you just have to have the courage to go for it. He gives an example of it being like standing on the edge of a dark abyss and you decide to jump and as your tumbling down you find you’re holding onto this boulder. You finally have to go all the way and let go of the boulder. We are so much better for it when we do. Why does it take so much for us to take that leap of faith and jump? What are we afraid of?
I wrote a post called “Trust - Cutting the Rope and Taking the Leap” last Nov ‘07 and I included an interesting story about a man rock climbing who couldn’t take the chance and trust. This story came by way of a link in an e-mail and I don’t know who wrote it so I can’t give proper credit to it either. But here’s the link to “The Rope” story for your readers (http://www.ticz.com/homes/users/bob/The-Rope/The-Rope.htm).
Great post, Andrea.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
In my case, usually life itself pushes me over. My leaving my own country, divorce, end of a few more relationships, leaving jobs . . . My challenge has been to accept the push before things get so extremely bad, and I think I am getting the hang of it.
I don’t think the worm likes to know what will happen to it in the cocoon (melt into a indistinguishable mash) before it flies out as a butterfly.
Akemi
February 28th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
you forgot the last line
He pushed them - and they FLEW!!!
March 1st, 2008 at 10:21 am
Patricia - I think it’s great that you listened to your own inner wisdom in that situation!
Pat - thank you for the link to the story! It is indeed so hard for us to jump. One of my favorite sayings is “Leap and the net will appear.” But it IS scary, because the net only appears once we jump! So I say, start with small leaps, little cliffs. As we develop more trust, we can handle bigger cliffs.
Akemi - you bring up an awesome point. We can choose to jump - or life pushes us. Either way, we’ll be okay, but I personally prefer to choose jumping in a conscious and empowered way!
Awesome analogy about the worm! We do indeed feel like that sometimes, like our life has to undergo a complete melt-down before something beautiful emerges …. thank you!
Sravana - Isn’t it interesting how attached we are to that last line? There’s still a bit of us that wants that guarantee, isn’t there? But that’s exactly what a leap of faith is about. There’s no guarantee that we WILL fly. Maybe falling is in our highest good! What do you think?
Blessings to all!
Andrea
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Yes, the Leap…how interesting Fear can be…I recently was confronted by my relationship partner who saw too many flaws in me to feel he could live with me any longer. At first, I was very upset, mostly because of his presentation of the issues. Yet, I had been very unhappy with myself for sometime and this Push was just what I needed. I took the stance that no matter what transpired between the two of us, this opportunity for me to work at becoming a “Newme” was timely and needed. I have began several things in my life recently that have me looking forward to the next day and I have started releasing myself from judging myself and others as harshly as I was. So, my teacher, my lover, my friend, Pushed me into the “Newme” program I have constructed for myself and I know, no matter where he and I stand, I am standing in a better place because of all this.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Hi Victoria,
What an amazing comment! Thank you for sharing this story … it is a great example of how, no matter how unpleasant the “push,” we can use it to serve our highest good and spring forward into much-needed action.
I think you asked yourself some key questions, which many of us forget when we’re in the middle of emotional turmoil (which goes along with the push, right?) and that is “How can I use this? What does this give me the opportunity to become?”
Can’t wait to hear more about the New You!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 4th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hey Andrea - I loved this article as usual. Seeing challenging situations and people as a master teacher is great insight. I’ve noticed that things (good or bad) always happen with a very good timing.
For instance, I’ve been journalling and meditating on relationships, and boom a few days later something (on the surface, looks bad) happened to me. On further investigation that event perfectly revealed to me where my own insecurities and fears are in relation to romance.
Blessings!
Albert
March 5th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Thank you, Albert, especially for sharing that story. I think you make an awesome point - when we turn our attention towards a specific area in our lives, our lessons come in through that life area! The lesson itself may apply more broadly (since no area of our life exists in a fish bowl!) but because our focus is there, our lessons can come into our consciousness most easily there. Thank you again!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 25th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
A good friend of mine sent me to your site, and I’m glad she did. I’ve been reading the articles, and I’m finding so much useful and positive in them. This one really strikes me close, as I am currently trying to return to work after several years on Disability. Life has seemed to conspire to get me back to work, out of the (relative) comfort zone I’ve been for a good while. I’ve been unhappy with the situation as well for about a year, but many family and friends have made me second-guess myself or even rather chided me when I mentioned trying to return to work. Recently two people did really give me some inspiration to give it a go: my dad and my friend who referred me to another article on your site just today. It’s been a breath of fresh air to have their support, that extra encouragement to try to improve myself, to take a shot at achieving my dream of a better life for me and my sons.
I’ve a long way to go with working on my inner me, but I feel good, positive about things. I used to be very positive all the time years ago, before reacted to illness and a negative relationship by withdrawing and building walls and falling into my own bit of negative. The real me began re-emerging early last year, and now I do feel I’m on my way back. I’ll have my ups and downs (I already have had some, as recently as the past few days.), but I’ve got some momentum going, I believe — and I have encouragement, and I can make the leap.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:21 am
The person who turned me on to your blog is the one who gave me the push. Things had been going one way for a long, long time, and Life made sure our paths crossed. I’ve no idea where things are going, but I know I’ve been turned on to a healthy path and am glad she’s here. Lots of new things and people came with her, and for that I’m grateful.