Drop the Hose!
While scrolling on Instagram the other day, I ran across a short video that was both hilarious and insightful. I wish I had saved it or sent it to someone so I could have shared a link to it here. Unfortunately, I didn’t. And I had no luck finding it again when I decided to write about it this week. So, I’ll do my best to describe it and trust you’ll get the visual.
In the one-minute video, a little girl was having a water fight with a sibling or friend in her backyard. The girl was probably no more than four or five years old. She was spraying water with a garden hose at someone off-camera while that person showered her with water using another garden hose.
The girl shrieked and ran away from her opponent. In her haste to get away, somehow her hose repositioned itself and was now aimed directly at the little girl's head. With eyes shut tightly, she screamed, “Stop it! Stop it!” as the water relentlessly doused her. Meanwhile, her mother yelled, “Drop the hose. Drop the hose! You’re spraying yourself!”
The caption on the video said something like:
When your therapist helps you realize that you’re doing this to yourself.
Not only did it make me laugh, but it was so spot on! I can certainly relate to that realization. How about you?
Here are just a few examples of how I cause my own suffering :
When I say yes to something I don’t really want to do.
When I get too far ahead of myself worrying about the future.
When I ruminate on something that someone did or didn’t do.
When I try to control things that are clearly out of my control.
If I take time for self-reflection and examine my thoughts and choices, it is shocking (and often humorous) to see how many times I’m the one causing my own suffering. I’m that little girl holding the hose!
This week, when you find yourself feeling upset, I encourage you to look at your thoughts and choices. Are you spending too much time thinking about things you have no control over? Worrying about the future? Are you rehearsing a speech over and over again that you plan to tell someone who you feel caused you harm? Are you saying “yes” to things when your heart is saying “no?”
From now on, when I catch myself being that little girl soaking herself, I’m going to do my best to laugh at my own ridiculousness and drop the hose!
If you could use some assistance in discerning where you are creating your own suffering, I would be honored to assist you with a series of Spiritual Coaching Sessions or a private Family Constellation Session. Both can help reveal and heal the unconscious blocks that prevent you from experiencing more peace, love, and joy in your life!
Please look around my website for more information and to book a session.
Until next time, may you find the humor in the lessons life is teaching you.
Nothing can hurt you unless you give it the power to do so.
A Course in Miracles ~ T-20.IV.1:1