PRACTICE: Write down three things that you are genuinely afraid of. Have you ever experienced those three things?
Most of us will never get to experience the mighty jungles of this earth like the Amazon, the earth’s largest tropical rain-forest. Just the thought of experiencing first hand what we may have read and what we have seen on TV causes us to say “Thank you, but no.” It is a shame that we feel that way because the Amazon is home to the greatest variety of plants and animals on this earth. I would like to suggest that we live in the mightier and more beautiful jungle, the Amazon of our minds.
“In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight…near the village, the peaceful village, the lion sleeps tonight.” These are the sweet melodious words from a popular movie and stage play. None of us think of the lion as a sweet cuddly pet. Lions are inactive about 20 hours per day and they start to get restless around dusk and remain active intermittently until dawn. The king of our jungle is fear. We fear for ourselves, our loved ones, our future and anything else you can imagine. Often our lion becomes most active when it is time to sleep or while trying to sit quietly for a few minutes. Our jungle is also home to the mighty elephant. The elephant is the largest mammal living on land today. Elephants live long lives, consume massive amounts of food, and are thought to have an excellent memory. Doesn’t that sound like our grudges, regrets, guilt and shame (each or all can live with us for a long time, consuming large amounts of our time and energy because we can’t forgive or forget). The birds in our jungle look and act much like the birds that can be found in the real jungle. Our birds fly from this tree to that tree, never staying any place for long and we find ourselves disoriented and confused about who we are and what we ought to be and do! Then there are the spiders that weave webs out of our anger, hostility and unforgiving spirits that we hold on to so fervently. Oh, and don’t forget the snake slithering around on the ground of our minds as we let people, places and things get under our skin. Yep, the mind left to itself can be a mighty scary place and the above list is just the tip of the iceberg.
Given the scary picture painted, you can easily understand why many of us work at not being alone with our thoughts. When we are alone, the wild animals start to jump around. Our fears surface. We begin to remember things that we would rather forget. Flight of thought keeps us unsettled. We can be sitting quietly and suddenly from behind an imaginary bush, a howling monkey starts to yell about some deed long forgotten and the memory brings with all the feelings we had when it happened.
So how do we tame the mighty jungle so that the lion sleeps and the village is peaceful? I think the answer may lie in what we can learn from the experts of the jungle (zoologist etc.). They go into the jungle and study it and its inhabitants carefully. Yes, sometimes they get hurt and sometimes they get diseases. But that doesn’t stop them from wanting to learn and conquer the jungle. I have learned to be alone with my thoughts. It is not easy. My jungle didn’t frighten me at first because I spent many months circling the jungle, peeping into my mind but not going too deep. After a while, I became bored with the surface scenery and wanted to know and experience more of the beauty of the jungle. So, I timidly entered in and that is when the adventure began.
For you see, when I fear what may be scary in my mighty jungle, I potentially cut myself off from the wonderful things that the jungle also has to offer. I miss out on the beauty of the flora and fauna (avoiding friendships and relationships for fear of rejection). I miss the wonderful waterfall, the spray of the mist on my face (blessing of sweet tranquility). And yes, the scary stuff is still scary but the desire to experience the beauty of the jungle that can only be found through exploration keeps me going.
PONDER THIS THOUGHT – Most of the things I fear are in my head. True or False?
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