There, there, there

I was recently reading a book and there was a snippet of a husband, wife, and two children on a picnic in a meadow of long grass and large trees.  Their young son was playing with his older sister while enjoying a popsicle when it suddenly slipped out of his hands and fell into some mud and grass and then he began to cry.  


The parents rushed over to him and the father placed his hands on the shoulders of the young boy and said, "there, there, there.  Not to worry son, we will get you another one."  The boy continued to cry.  The mother kissed his hand where the popsicle was held just moments before and noticed that the lingering taste of the orange popsicle remained on his fingers.  She had the boy put his fingers in his mouth as she said "there, there, there."  His eyes lit up joyously and he said, "popsicle."  The father smiled.

This reminded of a time when I was a young girl, riding my shiny new red Schwinn bicycle.  the kind with the big banana seat and streams of colorful plastic strips at the ends of the handlebars.  I crashed and scraped up my knees pretty badly and was sobbing as I approached my mom.  She put the bike down, took a good look at my knees then held me closely and said, "there, there, there."

I was comforted by her embrace and those simple words stopped my tears and I knew that I was ok.

Sometimes uninvited guests stop in for a visit like fear, doubt and worry. In the past I have either tried to resist them or over compensate in one way or another to avoid them,  not see them, or not give them any power.

Then I had a revelation.  Rather than resist or overcompensate in an attempt to release these unwelcome guests of fear, doubt, and worry, or other, I now look at them directly; as if they were the young boy who just dropped his popsicle, and I say, "there, there, there."  Taking great joy in it and experiencing the freedom of watching the sated feelings dissolve back into the nothingness from whence they came.

There, there, there.

I can't do it, I'm too old.  There, there, there.

But I don't know how.  There, there, there.

What if I fail?  There, there, there.

I am frightened and scared.  There, there, there.

I'm afraid I won't be accepted.  There, there, there.

What if it doesn't work out as planned?  There, there, there.

There, there, there.



Have the best day ever!