I ran across this quote the other day – “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin
I love this quote as it so beautifully expresses the duality of the dilema – there is risk of vulnerability if we visibly blossom. And there is the risk of never fully experiencing our potential if we make ourselves small, hold all our possibilities tight, like a bud. Did you get messages in your upbringing that it was not appropriate to be seen or heard? Not okay to be ‘big’? ‘Too big for your britches’ is a funny expression, but what a limiting message lies therein! Were you taught to make yourself small?
What thoughts does this quote invoke in you? At this time in your journey? Are you ready to expand? Have you feelings of expansiveness trying to bust out? Have you discovered that making yourself small does not serve the world? Have you come to that crossroads where it is time to choose to take the risk to blossom? And your life, as you know it, must shift in order to accomodate your new expression of self?
What is the risk?
Sometimes we fear that our loved ones will not accept the ‘new’ you. Indeed, some friendships may fall away – as there is a time and season for all things. Can you afford to let your season pass?
Soon Spring will be upon us, the season of new growth. Before that energy arrives, allow yourself to sit with these thoughts and feelings of holding back your fullest potential. Allow that potential to be seen in the soft moonlight of your awareness. When you are ready to blossom, allow the sun to shine upon you! And make room for new growth and promise!