We are all given a catalyst in life.
Rather like a compass, it shows us where we are and to where we are trying to navigate. This catalyst, which I refer to as our Carrot, usually comes in the form of our greatest life challenge. It is referred to by some as ‘Our Cross’ which we must bear.
However, if we can change our perspective; see it as Our Great Opportunity – a signpost directing us out of the darkness and in the direction of our Greatest Freedom, a return to our true Self, it offers us the chance to peel off the mask that fits too tightly, too restrictively. This release allows us breathe into the full expanse of our Greatest Potential.
It is a setting-free from a lifetime of self-imposed imprisonment of who we think we should be to be accepted, liked, loved; the safety net from potential rejection, isolation and abandonment. But ultimately it is a restrictive mask slowly smothering us to death.
I first heard the story of The Carrot & the Donkey as a schoolchild. It depicts a long stick extending from the rider dangling a carrot from a string. This potential reward propels the donkey forward on its journey. Somewhat like chasing a rainbow, the elusive pot of gold is always out of reach.
The good news, however, for those of us seeking freedom from our past is that freedom eludes us less and less as we move towards it.
My Carrot, or catalyst, was my voice and a passion for singing versus my battle with terror that virtually paralysed me into submission more than once. That quiet flame burning within me always enticed me back, so resuming my journey in hope of one day ‘enjoying the juices of my carrot’.
Terror made struggle in all facets of life. It kept me small in career and finance. Socially, there were situations and people to be avoided.
Why? Because of an underlying anxiety – a limiting belief that I was not good enough; a joke. And I expected others to take me seriously?!
Forcing through the fear led to illness. When we ignore emotions we have buried in our bodies, the body grabs our attention to the need for change in ways we can no longer ignore. The body represents suppressed emotion as a physical manifestation. If not for chasing my carrot, freeing my voice to its true power, I’d never have invested the energy into finding my way home to me; accepting ‘Me’ as good enough.
When I did, the floodgates opened.
Miracles began to cascade on my life. Support systems ‘fell’ into place without effort; chance meetings with people eager to help. A new world opened up in complete contrast to anything I’d known. The old world, based on my old beliefs had created a life of pushing against a raging tide. ‘Life is a battleground’ was a belief that bore its respective fruits just as obediently as my new belief, ‘I am Enough’, was now bearing an altogether juicier fruit, over-writing the bitter taste of the past.
We are powerful creators in a bountiful garden. What we grow depends on the seeds of thought we set. What Crop (or crap) do you wish to harvest?
I have travelled through many countries which were part of the running-away from Me. Following the carrot however commenced a journey to deep-within places I never imagined lurked inside of me; fascinating lands. Sometimes travelling through the dark of fear, often with no spotlight, I wanted to turn back to the days of unawareness, blissful debilitating ignorance. Looking back now I see it as the most inspiring journey of my life.
‘Til we have sat in the dark we can never know the brilliance of light.
My carrot, which at times felt unattainable, leads me every day closer to Home, closer to Me. Changing my perspective allows me to live as Victor not Victim, seeing the pain as an ‘Opportunity’, not a ‘Cross’.
It’s been a journey into wisdom that’s led me through the dark, to face down crippling limiting beliefs and emotions buried from decades past, opening my path to healing.
Forever grateful for I am the Donkey with my Carrot.
Neasa x
Neasa De Baroid is a singer, performer and an EFT Practitioner in Cork City