Young, Daring and Unstoppable!
In the late 60’s, the summer of my Junior year of high school, my sweetheart, Paul, and I took on a project of creating awareness in our small Island community in Michigan, of the importance of environmental support. Using an electric typewriter and the manual cranking mimeograph machine at the local library, we made over 1,000 pamphlets, listing the many ways to help the Islanders become aware of how we could save the planet: recycle, reuse, population control, small volume toilets, etc. I rode my bike around the Island carefully placing our answers to world devastation in every household’s mailbox. Sometimes we used Paul’s car too.
The only reason we took on this endeavor was because we were passionate about saving the planet. There was no doubt that we would achiever our goal. And achieve it we did.
Its funny to think about this, so many decades ago, and see that the intrepid spirit never disappeared in Paul or in myself. Passion and conviction to make a difference in the world still lies within both of us. Our desire to make a difference in the world has taken different turns, as they are want to do, but those young world-savers are still in action!
My scariest mission, probably since I crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the early 90’s, is at hand. Creating this Kickstarter Project: Cultivating Spirituality in Children, with the intention to raise awareness of the importance of the spiritual lives of children, and inspiring individuals to join me in this endeavor, seems really daunting to me; so much so that has stopped me for years from fully engaging, fully and passionately getting my feet and my fingers moving in the right direction.
I Am Just Like My Clients
I struggle with many of the challenges my clients struggle with. And, like them, I have to dig down deep within to get to what’s stopping me from doing whatever it takes to create the content, the video, the rewards, and most importantly, the compellingness to go “LIVE ” with the project.
It’s not time management, or knowing those backers who would bring this project to its goal: It’s taken grueling work on my part to really ready myself to take into account those details that plaque every one of my clients to one degree or another.
One detail at a time, I began to check off my list every item that would inevitably lead to going public with the project. I discovered 5 specific items that, if not attended to, would mean my mission would be aborted. It’s not uncommon for many of us, who wish to succeed in the world, to overcome obstacles within the context of Self. I offer this list to you.
1) I lack nothing, therefore I need nothing:
I’ve spent much of my life living as if I lacked worth, deservingness, competence, value, resources, and loveability, just to name a few. The completion of this project – to finish the book, Cultivating Spirituality in Children, and to start the Kickstarter Project required that I’m absolutely clear that I lack nothing. This project isn’t intended to fund me; it is intended to fund the project of cultivating awareness in all grownups of the importance of children’s spirituality.
By seeing myself as lacking anything, I fear I’ll be found out as lacking.
2) I’m Undeserving of Support:
I learned early in life that it is imperative to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. Entrepreneurship builds capacities to do whatever it take to get the job done. However, if self-reliance is built upon a foundation of unworthiness and undeservingness, my ability to truly do my work in the world is limited.
Over the years I’ve had to get down and dirty with myself, to find peace with my past, so I can carry on in the present in my highest potential; otherwise, my ability to fulfill my purpose will be stalled.
Living from lack and unworthiness will never allow anyone to create a life that truly makes its highest contribution to life. So, letting go of the interpretations of undeserving and unworthy, had to be checked off my list.
3) Lie, Cheat, and Steal:
Perhaps is was a past life, or the religious upbringing in this life that had me decide that I’m a very dishonest person. I found within my ballywick of limiting interpretations this one: People will find out or decide that I am conning and manipulating people out of their money, and that I, in fact am despicable.
To check this detail off my list I had to look at the clear evidence of this belief. I see that out of fear, I have lied, manipulated, and conned people into see me as lovable, worthy and deserving. Now, I don’t have to do that anymore, because I know myself to be those things. I’ve come to honor they lives I’ve lived, the lessons that have been learned and the positive value I now bring to the world. I’ve had to let go of this old and useless way of viewing myself.
4) I have to Prove Myself to You:
We always make something out of nothing. What I mean is that, each of us creates, in our own minds, what is significant and meaningful, and what is not. To begin a kickstarter project, I had to sit with not only the worthiness issue, but also the idea that this will prove to the world that “I’ve Made It,” if I meet my goal. If I don’t meet my goal, well, that will mean that “I Haven’t Made It.”
The need for anyone of us to prove ourselves is connected to the fear that – I lack something, and I may be undeserving of support – #1 and #2 of this checkoff list.
I can feel it in my bones when I’m wanting or needing to prove something, anything. Without the need to prove anything to anyone, and just create this project because it is what is calling me, I can let go of the fears and just create from inspiration, passion and compellingness. Then its more fun and a lot less scary. I’m not trying to get something, so I have nothing to lose! The fulfillment comes with the fulfillment of participating in this project to its completion.
5) I’m Beholding to All Who Help Me:
Seeing myself as someone who is lacking, undeserving, a cheat, and of course, being responsible to those who have helped me, would be part of this equation that adds up to: no follow through and no fulfillment of my intention. I don’t know about you, but this is absolutely true for me.
Remembering my commitment to empowering all people to empower themselves to fulfill their human spirit, in order to ensure every child’s spirit to soar, empowers me to shift my internal paradigm from getting – which is fear-based, into my greatest capacity to extend myself in the world.
I want for my children and grandchildren to allow their spirits to soar. I want them to live in the unlimited potentiality of their being, more effortlessly than me. Cultivating Spirituality in Children – the book, and the Kickstarter Project are dedicated to this cause – for all children everywhere. Join me. For fun, check out the video. I think its quite wonderful!
