Because of
He makes me
Finding insight can often feel like going on a bear hunt. There’s a children’s classic that tells this story about our journey towards self-discovery well with this title. You Tube even has a catalog of animations for it. One of my favorites is by Michael Rosen. This guy has a face made for story-telling.
– We’re Going On A Bear Hunt – http://bit.ly/uItL6P YouTube
Sometimes when we venture out on our personal journey, a bit of the spirit of Columbus, a musketeer or a little boy with a stick in his hand. We have courage.
Image by Darkroom Daze via Flickr
We are made beautiful by the courager; wind in our hair, weapon girded and travel pack filled with trail mix. And then mid-stride, mid-journey or in-process of anything our hand starts to shake. We remember more of our flaws rather than our merits. We remember abuse and encounter more of it. The tall grass becomes tangled around our ankles. We stumble often and start talking about why we cannot. We fear what we find or may find on the great hunt of accountability for our lives.
Words can be part of the tripping power over us. Words that point to all the power outside of us; over us. Words that erase our memories of what we have inside.
I am depressed because I have so much stress at work.
I hit him because he was being so rude.
I’m sorry but I wouldn’t cry all the time if you cared.
All the “reasons why” hover around us like angry weather, darkness or spooky caves.
I’m not forgetting the obvious. Hunting bears is dangerous. It is just a metaphor. Hunting for ourselves is less dangerous and more rewarding. We find that when we find our “bear,” and stay in the space of that fear for long enough over and over, it loses its power over us and our fears dissipate. We are safe and see that we have power.
Self-Care Tip: Get you some bear. You have the power and are not a victim.
Question: What keeps you from insight? How do you get past all the in-between that keeps you from seeing yourself and taking accountability for who you are? Please tell us your story.
Related articles
- Literature. . .We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (amomwithalessonplan.com)
Allowing myself to seek out professional help was the start, Doc.
Way to go Cin!!!!!! So proud to know u, share w u n b blessed w your voice. Rock it
taking accountability for who you are? We remember more of our flaws rather than our merits.
Woman! you are special. You offer professional thoughts for free because you care. And i love me some http://www.friendtoyourself.com
Gotta go! It’s bear hunting time…..
That was so sweet. I am nocked over. A silly grin on my face
They say you must accept that “sometimes the bear wins”. But for recovering alcoholics and addicts, if the bear wins we die. Perhaps we should govern ourselves by what the critics of America’s long interventionist wars propose: Have a clear objective, play to win, finish and get out.” If life has become like hunting bears, then we have a lot of redesigning to do before we step back into life. (would qualify this by saying for people that live in third or fourth world countries where no hope is a chronic reality it is seldom possible). Sometimes insights come immediately or after a few days of relaxed(not obcessive) pondering. Unless we engage in life we evaporate. We make the wrong choice, we fail, we err. As long as these unfortunate experiences are learning opportunities we should have more confidence that our future steps will have an increased possibility for success. Doubts will always exist but we have to believe in ourselves. Or just plain get pissed and stubborn. “Rage against the dying of the light…” Dylan Thomas
It is awful what many of us suffer
re alcoholics…for me it was more like the bear sometimes won the round but not the match.
u r a metaphor-ing devant.
I loved the video, the discovery of my own self is like that… full of scary or uncomfortable moments, do I crose the river or the forrest or the mud or whatever is there in the journey? many times I do not…. and I get stuck……..
Sometimes yes. But the other times… U r a hero regardless. Press on.
Love this! Thank you!
Sometimes I just go around the obstacle…might take a bit longer but I get where I’m going.
Oh u smart ones
Oh, Sana! I would love to give one of my extensive replies, but alaw, time is precious for me these days – as I suspect it is for you as well – so I won’t take all of both our time! I might perhaps write on this subject later, however! 😉
What keeps me from insight? In one word ; OUTSIGHT!
Trying to find myself by looking outside of myself is never a successful hunt! 😆
totally get it. thanks for coming out to play a little even though u have chores ;).
When I was in scout camp, (as a camper, a counselor and, eventually, a director) we went on many, many bear hunts. Great fun as we made the swishing noises through the grass, the “glopping” noises through the mud, the chest-thud noises over the bridges, the “soda-water-bottle” chant noises as we went through the villages. And then we climbed the tree and looked in all directions, found the bear, tore down the tree and went, as fast as we could, back through all of the grass, the mud, the bridges, etc. to get back to our hut before the bear found us. We loved it.
My “word” was the one I found at the top of the tree. When I finally realized that finding the bear meant going toward it instead of running away, I began to heal. It took lots of bear hunts and lots of running away before I got to the top of the tree at age 52 and someone said “…and who is Nancy?” Much scarier than “BEAR!!!!!”, but suddenly I had a direction – a reason for being scared, but a reason, also, to figure out why – and I ran (Well, no. I plodded.) toward it through medication and therapy until I was finally able to face it and learn to live with it. My hunt isn’t over. At my age, it probably never will be. However, knowing that I can go forward, instead of running away, and and knowing that, going forward, I won’t die of fright or be “eaten” by what scares me, has provided the series of steps that have taken me to a better place than hiding in the hut that was my life for 52 years.
Actually, the question about who I was caused me to fall out of the tree and I lay in a heap at the base of that tree for quite a while just shuddering and whimpering. THEN I started the hunt going forward instead of back toward the hut I had hid in all of those years. Maybe the fall shocked me into doing something positive.
ooh nance. this was good. u took it to a higher level.
I love this.Locus of control just where it should be 🙂 People who have found their bear are so refreshing to be around.
“found their bear” – way cool phrasology
Helping myself has helped me to go inner doors or myself. Mind i do sometime’s get it wrong and sometime question myself to hard but one day i shall get it right there is always hope for us all.
always hope. thx kev