Stop Hanging on the Fence

by Dona Lyman

"Stop hanging on the fence and go out and play in the meadow!"

-Dona Lyman

So many of us lead our lives living so close to the fence that we have absolutely no idea what is available to us in the meadow. We have no idea of the richness and the fullness of life that can be ours if we just left the fence once in awhile.

I heard this story of a young man who had lost everything. He had lost his family, his home, his job, everything that was of value to him. After spending many years feeling sorry for himself, he woke up one day and decided that today was going to be the day that everything changed. That, from this day forward, every step that he would take would be a step towards success, a step towards prosperity, and a step towards overflow. Today, that young man is re-married, has a wonderful family and a job he loves.

Alan Alda once said that "you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." By discovering yourself and by aligning yourself with your true purpose and your true potential, you realize that life is meant to be lived full throttle, not just barely getting by on the crumbs.

Stop worrying about what others think of you. Stop becoming offended by what others may, or may not say. Everytime that you do something great, someone will come at you to make you feel small. You don't need to waste your time seeking approval. Just make sure that you are not acting like they are!

We need to walk the walk and talk the talk. You should be the one to set the example for others to follow. Don't give a reason for people to judge you. When you are in a situation where you feel another person would benefit from an extra minute or two with you, give them the time. When you have the choice to be right or to be kind, always choose kind.

By living life against a set of standards that include kindness, compassion, love, and generosity we begin to feel comfortable stepping away from that fence. We begin to care less about what others think of us and begin to care more about what we think of ourselves. As we become more confident in ourselves we begin to live more and love more. We begin to see that the meadow really is an awesome place to live!