{"id":128,"date":"2013-07-10T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/395f0c79-bfa6-4a80-b8db-426c87cfd596"},"modified":"2013-07-10T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-10T05:00:00","slug":"on-the-building-and-tearing-down-of-walls-part-two-of-two-by-joseph-anthony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/?p=128","title":{"rendered":"On the Building and Tearing Down of Walls, Part Two of Two, By Joseph Anthony"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the Building and Tearing Down of Walls<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

Part Two of Two<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

By<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

Joseph Anthony<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font>\"\"<\/p>\n

We talked
\nlast time on building and tearing down inner walls.  We spoke of these walls as stemming from the
\nwisdom and creativity of children.  What
\nhappens though when we feel like we\u2019re too cramped or need to make some sort of
\nchange?  Here is one way of transforming,
\ncoming out of, and inviting others into your inner paradise. <\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

Gradually.  Begin by clearing out the space of unwanted
\nand unhealthy clutter: thoughts of self-hatred, shame, arrogance; and start
\nbringing in thoughts you want to live with: joy, gratitude, generosity,
\nlove.  Add a window or two.  Open them. 
\nLet the fresh air and light in from mentors and friends.  Build a door\u2014a beautiful, hand carved,
\nwood-hewn door\u2014perhaps a non-traditional\u2014round-Hobbit door; maybe a triangular
\ndoor, or one shaped like a star.  You
\npick.  Whatever shape you pick, remember
\nthis: these door opens from the inside.  <\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

Begin adding
\nart work\u2014beautiful visions and pictures of your dreams and aspirations; vision boards; scenes
\nof nature, mornings, mountains, trees.  Keep
\nhappy memories tucked away in special places. 
\nAdd a few knick-knack\u2014curious, quirky things that will become your
\nunique personality traits.  Have a few,
\nwell-chosen books (everyone has at least one book in them).  Bring in some candles or beautiful lamps,
\nsoft blankets, clean bed sheets, flowers, healthy food, clean water.  You decide what these symbolize for you.  I like to think of the healthy food as
\npositive affirmations, the clean water as living and bathing in the truth, and
\nso on.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re
\nready, open the windows and let the light in; or open the windows at night and
\nlet the fireflies in and the soft gaze of the moon.  Either way, let the fresh air of new ideas in.
\nLean on the sill and breathe, gazing at the beauty\u2014imagining the possibilities.  <\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

And when you\u2019re
\nready, open the door.  Stand at the
\nthreshold for as long as you need to, and then step out.  When you\u2019re ready invite safe, friendly
\npeople inside to talk with (living or dead), host dinner parties, sing-alongs, or
\nreading groups.  You get to decide who
\nand when and how.  You might even invite
\npeople in to make love with. <\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

And yes, you
\nmight get hurt.  You might open the door,
\ncome dancing out, and stub your toe on something someone left lying around
\noutside\u2014a worn-out  limited belief or a
\nrusty, old idea.  Some one might say
\nsomething mean, break a promise, and so on. 
\nIt is difficult to shield ourselves from all pain.  <\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

When we get
\nhurt however, we have a safe, healthy, clean, and holy place to go.  We will have a well-stocked medicine cabinet
\nfilled with the healing balms of mantras, prayers, and songs; we will have
\nready the elixirs of positive affirmations and creative pursuits; we will have
\nthe healing cures of physical movement\u2014tapping, walking, drumming.  We will have the secret remedies of the prayers
\nof other people\u2014keep a stash of these treasured somewhere in your space and
\nreplenish them often.  Keep a supply of
\nthe antidote for fear: actions<\/i>.  Feel the fear and keep moving.  Feel all of your feelings, honor the pain and
\nits messages of healing; honor your feelings by simply knowing them to be what
\nthey are\u2014feelings<\/i>\u2014neither mysterious
\nnor the end all and be all of who you are.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

So build
\nyour walls, create fragrant, holy, beautiful spaces\u2014temples of wisdom and love.  Tend the gardens of your body, mind, heart,
\nand soul.  Know that you can use any of
\nthese as safe places.  Each is inherently
\nand irrevocably a paradise.  Know too
\nthat you get to choose who comes in.  You
\nget to open the door.  Lots of people
\nmight come knocking, but only you have the power of opening the door.  And you can stay outside or inside for as
\nlong as you like.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

One last
\nthing: remember to honor your inner child for starting the process of building
\na wall in the first place\u2014a process
\ninspired by play<\/i>.  All wisdom is
\nplay, and all play is wisdom.  Connect
\nwith that child with gratitude, express that appreciation by affirming him or
\nher; and you can express that appreciation for your inner child (or children)
\ntoo by appreciating and honoring the children you see around you\u2014your own
\nchildren, your students, your nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or the children
\nin your neighborhood or on the train.  Take
\na cue from these children: learn to have fun inside and out, and come out and
\ngo in when you see fit.  Learn that
\nwhatever else this wild, complicated life is, it is play\u2014serious sometimes
\nperhaps, tragic, but it is play.  It is a
\ndance of wonder and of discovery.  It is
\nthe play of becoming who you are.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Donate to the Wonder Child Blog<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\"\"
\n<\/form>\n

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the Building and Tearing Down of Walls Part Two of Two By Joseph Anthony     We talked last time on building and tearing down inner walls.  We spoke of these walls as stemming from the wisdom and creativity of children.  What happens though when we feel like we\u2019re too cramped or need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}