Planting
Years ago, when I tried to plant a tomato plant in my back yard in Arizona, I was shocked and amazed at how difficult it was. I knelt on the dirt and started digging a hole for my tiny tomato plant. The ground was hard and dry to begin with, but the more I dug down, the harder it was. Guess what? I was actually digging onto the surface of a rock, which was well seated in the dry soil.
Can’t Move an Inch, Why?
No wonder there was no movement, and I could not create room for my plant, regardless of how much effort I put in. I was unaware of how many small and big rocks there were under the ground. Eventually, I realized that in order to create a hole for my tomato plant, I would have to loosen up the dirt around each rock, one at a time, in order to get the rock out of the hole successfully.
Sometimes the rock were so huge and heavy. It was such a painful process, but towards the end, I had a hole free of rocks. Finally I was able to plant my tomato plant, along with soil, water, and other nutrients. My tomato plant was able to grow even in the desert.
Emotional Trauma
This story reminds me of what emotional trauma can do to us. It can turn into emotional “rocks” inside of us. Some of these emotional rocks are smaller and some are bigger, depending on what happened in the past. How many of us are willing to deal with or even recognize any of these emotional rocks?
Our emotional growth is negatively impacted by each of our emotional rocks. For instance, we are not born with feelings of insecurity, lack of confidence, low self-esteem or self-worth, a poor self-image, or anxiety, depression, emotional disconnection, or alienation.
If we do not understand how these emotional rocks cumulate and develop over time, how will we be able to handle them and heal from their damage? Are you willing to look at the emotional rocks inside you? Are you ready for a “Shift”?
Questions for reflection:
- Are you able to identify the emotional rock(s) inside you?
- How have these emotional rocks been affecting you?
- Do you want to understand your emotional rock(s)?