July 10, 2008

When I was little, my father talked a lot about the fences we build in our minds. Usually, these little talks were preceded by fits of tears over story problems and algebra equations. After patiently listening to me wail that I didn't understand and I couldn't do it, he would calmly try to explain it one more way—and suddenly there was a whole new horizon of understanding. Then, I would get “the talk.” He would tell me that every time I said “I can't,” I was building a fence in my mind, a hurdle of resistance that would make my life more difficult in the long run. Any time I approached a new challenge, if my first response was “I can't,” then I had just added a mental obstacle to the physical obstacle I was already facing.

For the longest time, runners believed that running a mile in less than 4 minutes was impossible. In 1954, when Roger Bannister finally beat that four minute barrier, he not only conquered it for himself, but he changed a whole thought-form held in the sport. Suddenly, lots of people were able to run a mile in under four minutes, but only because they believed that it could be done.

I have found that most things in life operate under these same principals. Things change, people grow and overcome new obstacles because there is a belief that new things are possible. Many things I never believed I was capable of, suddenly became possible as I held myself open to new possibilities. I believe that changing the way we think about a problem is usually the first step to overcoming a problem.

In God all things are possible. God can create any kind of miracle.

However, I believe that God likes to work those miracles through us. And every time we hold ourselves in limitation—any time we believe we can't, or are undeserving, or perpetuate negative thinking about ourselves—we make it more difficult for God to work through us.

Where are the fences in your mind? We all have them, but they don't need to stay there. When we begin to acknowledge the places of doubt and fear within ourselves, we know where we can ask for God's help. We can begin to tear down those fences, so that we can be open to the vastness and the great possibility that exists in God's unconditional love.