What makes an acorn burst through its shell and grow into a mighty Oak? What makes a tiny infant burst free of its mother and become a unique human being? The answer is identical for each: it is the "vital force" created within seeking fulfillment. It is that Divine spark that refuses to be extinguished. To do otherwise, leaves a Universe bereft of the unique gifts only that seed was created to offer. Culture, however, can make unwise decisions. The acorn, destined for power and might, may be targeted to become a Bonsai; the infant, a puppet to carry out family tradition. How can one nurtured to live within a planter or a box learn to live as if there is no planter, no box at all? An eternal communication center, an "I Am," is formed within each seed at creation. If an "I Am" is planted within unfertile soil, it's mighty branches can easily be trimmed into what "it ought to be." Once properly fertilized with necessary nutrients, however, that unique seed can shoot for its unique North Star. In Return to Joy: A Thousand Tiny Steps Judy Risley describes, through her real life experiences, how she shed the box within which she found herself as a young adult. The four walls were comprised of false beliefs, rigid programming, generational dysfunction, and most of all, unnatural fear. In order to survive within that box, she had remained contracted, isolated, and invisible. Knowledge knocked a hole within her wall of unnatural fear, awakening her to the deeper truth of love. Her Divine source, God her partner, continued enlarging that hole until she caught a glimpse of the truth with which she had been created. Communication/meditation between her many selves: spiritual, adult, child, observer, and future, opened her soul to her deepest truths. Once freed and communicating, the die was set. The box in which she'd spent most of her life, became more fragile with each tool she embraced, eventually deteriorating entirely. As she stepped into visibility, the nutrient of loving connectedness became so addicting, there was no way back into the darkness of invisibility. She was FREE, free to share her unique combination of DNA and environmental experiences. Free to soar, to fly, to love. There is no greater joy!
