Apparently, no one told the chipmunk that this was a "bird" feeder! Apparently, it didn't understand that the feeder was meant to be out of reach! All the chipmunk understood was that it was hungry and there was food, so it just went and got it!
Why aren't things in our lives that simple? If I need something or want something, why don't I just go get it? I think the reason is that along the way, I have had messages that played in my head saying "You can't, You can't, You can't"
"You can't" is often a message of kindness, unfortunately, designed to keep you from harm. But "You can't" can also be an ugly chain link fence put up to keep you inside boundaries! Through the links, you can see the world, you just can't quite get to it.
Over my lifetime, I have had my share of "You can't"'s surrounding me but my inner chipmunk said "Yes, but I'm hungry and I see that food right there so I think I can"!
My "I can" attitude pushed me through college, helped me get my first job, assisted me up the ladder at that job and kept me from succumbing to old specified gender roles.
Now, I have to admit that "I can" has sometimes left me stranded on the side of a mountain thinking "What was I thinking, I can't do this"? But, even then...even then, after I collected my wits, I had to be proud of the fact that I had tried! In fact, if I hadn't started saying "I can't", could I have gone further?
Over one's lifetime, there are different stages. At the beginning of each new stage there are chain link fences. Again, these fences are often intended to be out of kindness, trying to protect us. We try to protect little children from obvious dangers as they navigate a new world. We try to protect teenagers for the same reason. But both of these age groups are like the chipmunk and defy imposed boundaries. Chipmunks don't see fences. "You can't" hasn't yet been engrained in their heads. But then, as you get older, "You can't" is repeated over and over and becomes embedded in your brain and all of a sudden, fences appear. You become afraid and hesitate to cross the imaginary boundary. And the chain link fence is no longer about safety, it's about fear!
When you become comfortable again, the fences become invisible. Then when you "get hungry" and push the boundaries...whoosh - the fence materializes! Fear sets in.
It's here where you have had to channel your inner chipmunk!
Now is when you have to say
"I'm hungry. I see the food right there."
And "I CAN" reach it!
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