You can hold mountains, metaphorically speaking. The climb-up-the-healing-shadow-side one-step-at-a-time mountains you conquer and celebrate from within. We conquer what we think we are capable of conquering. Your potentials, possibilities and the level of your self-love, inner happiness and peace flow (or not) to the rhythm of your self-worth and self-esteem - that which you think you are worthy of holding and what you think you can or can not conquer.
What are you holding right now?
Imagine a pair of balancing scales in front of you. The ancient bronze two-pans-hanging-from-a-beam kind. Allow these scales to represent your current self-perspective. Now, on one side of the scales place all of your strengths - that which lifts you up and makes you feel courageous, including all of your aspects that help you love, trust, believe, stand up and show up for yourself. On the other side of the scales place all of your growing edges - those parts of self that feel imperfect, that challenge you, make you feel vulnerable and those aspects you would rather not face, yet.
See the scales in your minds eye or if you feel inclined literally be the scales. Standing (or sitting), place your arms out to the side with your hands open, palms facing upward. Begin in the balanced position with hands at the same height. You might even like to close your eyes as you feel the strengths in one hand and your growing edges in the other. Let your body and arms intuitively move in relation to their individual weights, sans judgement. You might be surprised when you open you eyes to see how similar or different they are to what you think they would be.
So, how do your scales weigh up? Are they hovering in an equalised state or is one side holding more than the other?
Whether the way your scales currently weigh up makes you feel hopeful or hopeless - the empowering quality of scales is that they move. By changing what one side or aspect is holding creates an immediate shift on the other side. We can release and transmute aspects or add and deepen our connection with others to adjust our level of inner-balance.
Growing edges are often described as weaknesses. Yet it is in the moments when we view those so-called weaker parts with worthiness and a deeper knowing that they serve a purpose - that they transform into the bravest parts of our being and shift the scales of our vulnerability, how we see ourselves and what we think we are capable of holding, doing and being.
When you think you can, you really can hold mountains. The anything-is-possible kind of mountains.
As William Blake reminds us in his poem, Auguries of Innocence;
"To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour."
I'd love to hear about your current growing edges! What helps you transform them into strengths? Add your comments below or be a part of the conversation on my Facebook Page.
Shine on, Jelena x
p.s. During the above photo shoot Kalvin was sitting on my other hand and said it has been quite a journey for him to feel harmonious balance between his strong-points and not-so-strong points. Kalvin reckons our culture is all too quick to view strong as good and not-so-strong as bad. But he says our not-so-strong points are actually fabulous. It's normal to have growing edges. Even necessary if we want to be the full expression of who we are. It is of great assistance to our life journey to feel our vulnerabilities. Feeling their weight is different to letting them weigh us down. Cultivating a healthier perspective of our whole self, deepens our experience of inner harmony. Which can open our hearts to more self-love, open doorways for greater happiness and open our hands to hold more than we once dreamed possible.
© Copyright Jelena Mrkich 2013.
Permission is granted to share this post and images within it freely on the condition that the author is credited and this byline is included. Jelena Mrkich is an Artist, Art Therapist and Creative Catayst who is passionate about creativity as a tool for healing, transformation and self-awareness. For more info visit JelenaMrkich.com or for regular creative good things join her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
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