Breaking Away and Breaking Through

“Tonight I’m gonna break away, just you wait and see.  I’ll never be imprisoned by a faded memory.” These words open the song Crazy Love performed by Poco.  They resurrect memories of failed relationships.  We have them, there’s no escaping.  It’s part of the human failing.  Can you break away?  Can you escape the mental and emotional prison that hinders progress?  In my life this also relates to many failed attempts to surmount the obstacle, break down the walls that kept me from advancing beyond the artificial barrier between my male façade and the female within who wanted desperately to be seen and heard.

Maybe I’m delusional, anything’s possible, right?  So why isn’t breaking the chains possible?  You are strong.  I know doubt can be a powerful deterrent.  Are you accustomed to surrendering, to forsaking your independence?  Yes I’ve used the terms ‘forsaking’ and ‘surrender’.  No they are not overused.  I’m today’s version of Miss Phelps and I’ve accepted the mission of being the encouragement for the positive edge of your conscience.

Get out and do one thing at a time always taking the step forward.  There will be times when forces buffet you – like the family and friends who do not yet know about you, I mean “really know” about you.  They will erect invisible walls, glass ceilings.  The artificial barriers are only temporary.  They are not dalliances over which you should brood or dote.  Certainly contemplate and absorb as a master thief studies the safe into which he desires access.  The accomplished ones, the geniuses, understand but fail to accept limitations. They gather intelligence, study, practice and then forge ahead.  Sound familiar?  No, I’m not advocating you to become a master thief!

How did you learn to walk in heels, apply makeup, walk with your head held high? If people can overcome manmade obstacles meant to protect, we can overcome manmade obstacles meant to keep us boxed in – to protect a precious narrow insulated world.

I don’t have universal wisdom to enable you to advance beyond your current situation.  I can offer insights into how I’ve arrived at this milepost.  Others who have advanced well beyond me have erected beacons at each milepost to guide us.  I’m sure some, as am I, would be willing to share their travails and how they overcame the obstacles.

Think positively, even when you feel doubt casting clouds in your sky.  It’s up to you.  The grass will always seem greener somewhere else.  You may desire to change places with another.  I know, I’ve been there.  But when I watch their lives, they are not devoid of challenges and setbacks.  The unknown can be alluring, tempting and irresistible.  Shortcuts are fraught with danger and unknowns.  Furthermore, wishing “ain’t gonna make it so” and wanting may be the obstacle that keeps you from attaining.  Beware of those shiny objects.  All that glitters is not gold.

Have a circumspect day.  Allow thought to spur you to action.

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro