Regardless of where you live, spring heralds the promise of new growth, balmy breezes of fresh air, new beginnings and renewed hope. This spring also represents the grand finale of the first decade of the new millennium, holding the promise of the turning tide of refreshingly needed change, no matter what your political proclivities, as the new presidential term unfolds: amended economics, new health care initiatives and drastically modified perspectives of our place in the world.
Last year proved to be incredibly challenging for us all as the proverbial economic roller coaster ride seemed to crash to the ground, with the upheaval of what we had come to know as "normal" and the tremendous sense of loss in our portfolios, jobs and standards of living. Many of us suffered both materially and psychologically as our foundations seemed to crumble and life as we had come to know it during the economic boom melted away into a seeming puddle. This is not the first time in history that such drastic changes have occurred and it won't be the last, but history has also proven that we as humans are incredibly resilient and adaptable on the pragmatic level, able to transcend, transform and thrive under the harshest of circumstances. It's this intrinsic adaptability that has allowed us to maintain a sense of balance in the most dire of situations, enabling us to emerge from the winter of our discontent to the budding springtime of new beginnings and new opportunities.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt said during a similarly challenging time in the last century, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". In that statement he pinpointed with laser-like clarity the root of all negativity: fear. When we succumb to fear, we feel weak and powerless. We feel as if the rug has been "pulled out from under us". We feel imbalanced and out of kilter. We describe the feeling of having "a pit in our stomach" or feeling as if "the sky is falling down" to crush us. These phrases and descriptions all point to our anticipation that something even worse might or is going to happen. These thoughts and words lift us out of the present moment and whirl us like a tornado into a doomed future. They set off a cascade of physiological chemical reactions that result in unhealthy changes within our bodies, which have an even more negative effect on our minds. They set the stage for a self fulfilling prophecy that may very well come true, because we as human beings are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for.
It's been scientifically proven that when we think negative thoughts, our adrenal glands respond with a powerful "fight or flight" release of adrenaline. This mechanism proved very convenient when we were fleeing from saber-toothed tigers in the jungle, but it creates havoc in our modern-day bodies when we feel this surge of hormones but have nowhere to run. When we allow our fear to initiate this downward spiral into negativity, we can literally create disease in our bodies.
Numerous books have been written about how our thoughts create our reality. Many people denigrate these "ideas" as being "New Age" and relegate them to what they consider to be "nonsense". However, each of us has the power to create positive change from the nexus of our initial thoughts. Quantum physicists have described the power we have to change our patterning by changing our basic thoughts and creating new, healthier pathways throughout the vast highways that weave their way throughout our craniums. We've all heard of "positive affirmations", but did you realize that by repeating a well-constructed affirmation ten times a day, for twenty one days, that you can physiologically change your brain, neuron by neuron, creating new chemical reactions that can lead to health and empowerment? That mechanism offers each of us the ability to counteract the negative effects of fearful thinking, to take control of our destinies rather than succumbing to what appears to be happening around us or "to" us, and to avail ourselves of the new opportunities that present themselves on a daily basis if we allow ourselves to be open to these possibilities for change, growth and expansion.
As we look for new ways of living in the world, it's important to get to really know ourselves, to know who we really are, who we really want to become and what we need to do in order to allow our real selves to unfold. Many people have recently lost their jobs, yet have been able to turn what seems like disaster and loss into the most precious gift they've ever received: the time and opportunity to get to really know who they are at their core and how they want to express themselves in their work and in their daily lives going forward. Many of them are looking for guidance and help in figuring out their next steps, which may range from finding a new job, to creating and developing a new business, to reinventing themselves. Affirmations enable them to develop a deeper sense of who they are, what they really need and want and to put that knowledge and those clearly identified desires into an actionable process of creation and momentum.
This spring offers each and every one of us the opportunity to create the new beginnings we've been longing for and to develop our bright shining paths into the future. It's an opportunity for each of us to create our own "Yellow Brick Road".
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(c) 2009 Cathleen R. Pratt
