"Break a leg!"
-- Theatrical slang for Good Luck!
[Classic post from 6-29-16]
I can't tell you why, but strange, seemingly random thoughts pop into my head at will. Yesterday, the idiom, break a leg! just popped into my mind, and then I immediately thought, no--break a chain! Okay, that was weird. But it felt perfect, so I went with it.
With flashbacks to the song, Unchain My Heart, I imagined how we have a tendency to chain ourselves to or to feel tied to someone, or something, or even an idea or belief, fear.
I like how Assata Shakur defines that: "People get used to anything. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. After a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. But to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave."
I realize and understand that being chained to anything is a self-inflicted act, but even enlightened people may sometimes not be paying attention, and as Assata Shakur said so well, "people get used to anything," even being chained up.
But, these chains--and I believe there can be many at the same time, can be broken. We, alone, have the power to break these chains. It is not something that anyone can do to help us, except perhaps to help us see them, and then just love us while we make the decision to break them one by one until we are feeling that glorious freedom of release.
Now, you might be the exception and have no chains that bind you. Fantastic. You can support a friend or loved one who does, as you would be a great example of that glorious freedom, and we lead best by example.
But, for the rest of us, including myself, I say that today is Break A Chain Day! Go out, or rather, go within, and break a chain today! Break a chain! Just one. Experience the feeling of the decision, and the action of breaking that chain. It might be a little chain, an easy one to break. Great. It doesn't matter. The degree is only in our mind anyway. Celebrate that release. Rest in that release. Feel that joy and the peace of mind. Yes! You did it.
Ready for another? Break that chain! Not ready for another? Pause, reflect on the one you took out and live to decide and act another day. It's all good. We are always in charge. Awareness is the key. Procrastination is okay for a while. Just remember the joy of the doing.
I hope you have only a few chains. We get so used to them that we don't realize how many there are. But, we have the power and we can break one at a time and feel the relief of each one, delight in each decision, and celebrate each movement. I am committed to breaking at least one chain today. I have a list of them. I created them. I can break them. And I will relish the joy of doing just that.
One last thought. Sometimes, we might imagine that a chain is attached to us and that we are being held and that we need to break that chain. And, sometimes maybe the chain isn't really attached to us, but we are simply holding on to it. In these cases, there is no need to break the chain, we simply need to let go of it. I think that once we see how this is true, we will realize that all the chains are being held by us and that they aren't ever attached to us. We are attached to them.
Today Is Break A Chain Day. Break A Chain!
Spread Some Joy Today--by unchaining that joy that comes standard in every human being. We think we should save it, but it is unlimited and is best expressed opulently.
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