The Ladder

Hi! Welcome! Welcome to The Calm Mommy Blogger!! This is our first serial posting. Yaaaay!!

I’m guessing here, but I am assuming you are here to hear all about how Mommies (feel free to insert Daddies, people, young ppl, older ppl, etc) do what they do, calmly. Or at least, how this Calm Mommy does it. If I am right, you are definitely in the right place. If you subscribed to have a funny and poignant article arrive in your inbox to read while you sip your Sunday coffee – you’ve come to the right place as well. Whatever your reasons, your motivations, I am assuming again that you are open to learning new lessons from what you read. To perhaps have some eye-opening moments. That means you are ready for – and don’t let this word trigger you into shutting this page - change.

I have found that change can be a scary word for some people. People like certainty, status quo, the comfy fuzzy falling apart slippers - even though there are perfectly good new ones sitting in the closet :). People like what they know. What is comfortable for them.

There are, upon occasion, the people who light up when you mention change. “Something new to learn? Oh, goody! Point me in that direction!”

Whether you are type 1 or type 2, I’d like you to pay attention to this metaphor I am going to describe. I use a ladder here, but if you are the active and out-doorsy type, go with a nature hike.

OK. So here’s the metaphor. You set up a ladder. A really tall ladder. Outdoors. You climb up one rung. The view hasn’t changed much, right? You see things from a slightly different angle, but nothing drastic. Then you move higher. OK, now you feel that you are off the ground. With the next rung you feel that you have really moved up and you look down to see how far you are from the first rung. You gather courage and keep climbing. You see everything around you from a different perspective, now. The leaves look different from here. You see rooftops, as opposed to the awnings. You see your neighborhood differently. As you get higher and higher, you notice that not just your elevation and the immediate scenery have changed, but you can see more. You are in the same spot (or on the same mountain for the hikers here), yet your scope of vision is immensely different. You see things not just from a different perspective, you see more. You see wonders you didn’t even know existed. And they were always there, they just needed you to climb to greater new heights to see them.

This is what happens as we change. We take a step, we climb, sometimes unsure of our footing. We feel discomfort as we move up. But as we place our feet on that next rung, we see the beauty of this new level. We see things in a way we never had before. We can use all the knowledge we knew on the previous level, but in broader newer ways. What we know and how we use it expands just by the very nature that we are moving upward. Up, there is greater expanse. Up, there is broader vision. Up, there are more opportunities and mind-boggling beauty.

So really, what is there to be afraid of? Don’t you want all that you have now, but greater? That is where growthful change leads us. That is the absolute breathtaking beauty of change. Type 2 already knows this and therefore loves to climb. They are the “me, me, me” people when someone offers a new hike. They know the beauty and expansion that is in store for them.

Come join those climbers. Take those few first tiny baby steps. Experience it. Feel the expanse. See how what you know can be stretched. See the beauty that is waiting for you – it is right where you are, you just need to climb a bit higher to see it. You, too, will soon be a “me, me, me” person.

Come join me for this climb. It will be wondrous. Let us learn new ways to be calm and see how quickly this serenity settles over us and our surroundings. See how it expands your consciousness and utilizes your knowledge in new ways. Feel the excitement of doing something good for yourself, even as it benefits others.

Let’s get to the breathtaking heights together.

Come join me for this climb.

With love and serenity,

Devorah