I'm sure there are many analogies about personal development and what positive changes self- awareness can produce in a person's life. The journey inside is an extremely personal one and no two are alike. To create change for the better and to be able to become a better 'you' is not an easy road to travel. There are always things popping up to challenge and test and equally the joy awaiting after a breakthrough can feel like nothing else- you are strong and immense and completely sure. You are fit for the purpose of your life. So where does my toenail come in?
I was perhaps more interested in my toenail falling off than close friends and family were comfortable with, but it truly fascinated me! One moment, I had a lovely painted red toenail and the next it was lying on the floor, fully intact and looking as out of place and surprised as I was to see it there.
After the initial shock, I began wondering about what sort of trauma could have happened to cause such a reaction but which didn't even register in my memory. I had no idea what happened to my toe that caused the nail bed to die. But I did know that unknown trauma triggered an incredible natural process that I realised I am very familiar with.
Often a trauma in life is the catalyst for a complete shut-down. Whether it is of the blood supply to a nail-bed or of participating in the status quo, this trauma becomes the full stop. No more. And things will never be the same again.
From crisis comes healing. And just as the nail-bed heals and begins the process of creating a shiny new nail, so too do those who choose to rise up from the knocks, begin again and grow to develop a shiny new self.
While the new nail is in its infancy, the old broken nail stays in place. it protects the soft and vulnerable nail growing underneath. It serves its purpose of being 'the nail' until the new one underneath is stronger and ready to take it's place and do it's nail thing.
When you are on a journey of recovery from trauma or in a process of deep self-awareness, it is a safety net to hold on to old ways, habits or personalities as you test and try out a new way of being or doing. It is only when you become strong in your new way, that the true strength is in allowing the old self to drop away- to acknowledge that it has served its purpose and needs to give way to the blossoming and developing shift change lying beneath.
Sometimes this the block that is encountered during the process of healing or discovery. The fear of letting go of the old to make way for the new. The uncertainty of the strength of self to go forward without the security or protection of an old way of being or doing.
If my toenail is anything to go by- that letting go will happen, often without you even knowing it. There is no place for fear or uncertainty- be strong in letting go of the old as it is necessary to expose the new to grow and develop.
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