This video from the archives seems to fit this week’s theme of “hiding under an umbrella.” This time it’s about waiting for a rainy day; holding yourself back for “someday.” Get out from under that umbrella; today’s the day!
Rosemary’s 2 Minute Video: Are You Holding Yourself Back:
Or, to look at it another way, what are you using to protect you from the storms of life?
As I look out at the heavy rains that are falling, I wonder how often we rush to our raincoats and umbrellas to make sure we don’t get rained on. Metaphorically, we do the same thing. We rush to protect ourselves from whatever is happening around us so that we don’t have to deal with the depths of the implications or meanings.
Sometimes this can be as simple as avoiding making a painful phone call or finding an excuse to procrastinate on handling something complicated. But I also find that it is easy to stay on the surface and avoid digging deeply into the personal growth work that is available to us in the midst of a storm of life.
For example, have you ever had the experience of being in the middle of turmoil in your life and you find yourself searching for the quick fix, the way out, the end to the pain instead of seeking the deeper meaning and the personal lesson that is hiding inside the situation? We’ve all done this, but as we move along our spiritual journey we learn to seek out the deeper lessons and to get those lessons learned before they return in a more insistent way.
That is what they do. The lessons are there for you to learn what you need to learn to grow into your highest self. They are presented in different guises so that you have plenty of opportunities to figure out how to grow from them. And they don’t go away until you really get what you need to learn.
So your choice is always to learn it now or learn it later.
May I give you a piece of advice, based on personal experience? Learn it now. When lessons return because we’ve been hiding out from them they usually come in a more powerful way so that they are sure to get our attention. I jokingly say that I am focused on finding the lessons and learning them when they are subtly appearing without waiting for them to turn into two by fours to the head!
In what ways you are avoiding the work that can advance you on your journey? Are you thinking about doing some journaling but can’t seem to find the time? Would you like to meditate but you don’t want to learn how just yet? Do you know that you are not being as successful, satisfied, fulfilled as you wish and yet you don’t feel ready to get the help that might bring you that success, satisfaction, fulfillment?
All you have is NOW. The lessons don’t go away. The Universe wants you to have that success, satisfaction and fulfillment and puts lessons on your path so that you can clear the blocks and achieve your dreams. Why delay that?
It’s usually fear. But the rewards of doing the work, of learning the lessons, are so much greater than the pain of getting there that it’s worth it to start now.
Get the help. Do the work. Learn the lessons.
And, when the next storm comes, you can happily dance in the rain!
I really hear this message! It’s so easy to procrastinate, to put off bringing in or doing something that we REALLY want and the excuses we use can be pretty lame. How often have you done this yourself? I know I’m guilty!
When I move to the right house, when I have the right partner, when I have $X in the bank, when I get a new job… It goes on and on. There are so many good reasons to postpone doing something. And yet if we are thinking about doing that ‘thing,’ whatever it is, there must be some energy available to it in the moment, some energy to support the thought. Thoughts are things, right? And thoughts, as everything, are made up of energy. So it follows that there’s some energy there.
In 1974 I was waiting to move into the perfect house on the water before getting pregnant, but finally decided that I wasn’t getting any younger and that maybe I had the wrong priority. We ended up finding the perfect house on the water the same weekend I got pregnant with my daughter and moved in months before the birth. Funny how that seems to work, isn’t it?
So what are you waiting for? And what can you do today, right NOW, to move in the direction of what you desire?
I have so many ideas floating around in my head for workshops, classes, teleseminars and all they are waiting for is for me to get them on the calendar. What holds me back? If I’m honest, it can be a fear of committing to the calendar. Maybe there is a little insecurity about, “What if I schedule it and no one signs up?” And yet is it fair to people who want to take the workshops, classes and teleseminars for me to withhold myself from them because of my ‘stuff’?
There are some magnificent artists who feel they aren’t good enough to sell their artwork, and yet the rest of us would love to purchase it, given the chance. There are some amazing singers who think it’s okay to sing in the shower but are afraid to share that talent in public. There are books and articles waiting to be published because the author judges them ‘not ready’ or ‘not interesting enough’ for sharing with others. I’m thinking that this becomes pretty self-focused — maybe we are given the talents and abilities that we have so that we can share these with others.
In many cultures, storytelling is an art and everyone is expected to share around the campfire or the town square. People don’t judge, they just share whatever they have to share. Can we adopt that attitude in our society? Let’s agree to just share, not judge or wait for the perfect time. We can agree to accept whatever the response is, without judging ourselves or others, and allow the impetus to come from within, to just share what is inside us. If there truly is a stumbling block, an obstacle, then we can decide to accept help, to do the personal growth work or the spiritual work, and then to move forward.
Take one step today. If you would like to examine the blocks or obstacles, then make an appointment with a counselor or coach and do the work. But figure out that one step and then take it. It can open a floodgate to the energy you were looking for to keep moving!
________________________
Please feel free to re-post this article and share it with your readers. All I ask is that you include the following information when you do:
Mystic Messages 
Use the Good China – Richard’s Commentary
October 17, 2013 — RichardTrue confession time: I am an inveterate procrastinator. I have been all my life. Maybe it’s my Leonine nature; with a birthday in August I definitely have some cat-like tendencies toward an independence from all those things waiting to be done.
And here’s another confession: when we unpacked the “good China” during our most recent move-in we tucked it away in a cupboard over the refrigerator – a rather difficult to get to area – because we don’t use the good China!
So, what’s this post of Rosemary’s about; and what do I take away that it might be good to consider?
The key paragraph that speaks to me is this one:
When you are connected to your inner wisdom and your spirit guides, you can check in to see what your next step is. Sometimes the message might be to capture the idea and then schedule it, even if it is not to be acted upon today. But often we challenge or question the energy of the guidance and step back to analyze until we have moved away from pursuing the action.
Yes, there are certainly times when I do “step back to analyze” and then the opportunity slips away and the guidance for the “next step” is ignored. This is the downside of procrastination. But here’s the thing: I do receive and hear a lot of guidance. And yes, often what I do with that guidance is put a task on my to-do list. In a sense this is putting it off; however, I do use my task list to get things done.
Lists really work for me. I learned yeas ago that if I can get a task listed and scheduled it will get done. It may not even get done on the day I first schedule it (the procrastination habit is tenacious!); but it does get done. This is my solution to my “Leonine procrastination” trait.
So, then I look at Rosemary’s comment on “Universal Flow” – When you follow the energy of the idea you receive then you are staying in the flow of the creative energy that comes to you from your connection to Universal Flow. She actually implies that when we are in this flow perhaps we are not procrastinating at all! She also implies that it’s OK to put off, even ignore the “shoulds” our egos present to us!
I often do have the sense that I am in a kind of flow, a rhythm in my life. And when the list of tasks obtained from guidance is used to channel the flow of my days I feel good, accomplished and content. And I have long since given up the idea that my task list for any given day will be exhausted. I have accepted that it’s OK to slide a task to another day; and sometimes tasks even drop off the list when they are overtaken by other tasks or they lose their importance within the flow. Perhaps those dropped tasks were in the “shoulds” category!
When I am in flow, in the rhythm of life I tend to feel productive; tasks get checked off, others get moved, some even dropped. An “old tape” may start up in my head accusing me of procrastination. But, if I really examine my life and accomplishments, maybe I’m not such a bad procrastinator after all!
What drives your life? Do you let your ego over-schedule you with shoulds then beat yourself up with labels like “procrastination”? Go inside for guidance. Listen for direction and list the tasks you can undertake to move in that direction. This moves you into flow and purpose!
Meanwhile, maybe I’ll get that good China out this weekend—for just the two of us!