Growing up I was gifted a family with a ‘CAN DO’, ‘YES’ and ‘ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE’ philosophy. It is safe to say I have taken full advantage of this. I recall this family approach was often seen as a little ‘uncanny’ and although met with curiosity by many we often got a bit of a name for ourselves. The ‘Harvey way’ some use to say. This approach, welcomed failure as an essential learning tool, it didn’t ever prevent these mistakes/failures arising, it allowed my brother and I to create our own learnings regardless of sometimes the harsh reality of when that learning eventualised. Would even go as far as saying now, there is no such thing as failure, just a whole bunch of learnings that help make you YOU. Fortunately, there was a strong support system surrounding us and as a result I felt able to embrace this as much as seemed possible.
Yet, even living in this dynamic, I was and am still very impacted by all the CAN’T realities that this world escalates through fear, protection and maintaining a ‘safe’ approach to living. Nothing wrong here. Just an observation. You come into the world with open eyes and arms and belief that anything is possible, and slowly and surely, that open endedness begins to narrow. Even being in a welcomed environment determined to leave it as open as humanly possible, at some point reality, common experiences and majority views have an undeniable impact and these beliefs begin to fade. Those childhood dreams become distanced and we make the most of life with what we feel is possible within our altered lense that we are now operating from. Every experience paves a new reality in which we observe and see the world. The thing is so often, one experience creates a new perceived truth. Something that we decide somewhere along the way that this is the way it is, and it must be real, because this one experienced said so. And these truths begin to pile up. Our body and mind are pre-ordained to create pathways, to keep us safe and to project us. These inbuilt systems are forever deciphering what is good, bad, what made us feel happy, sad, scared, angry and filtering our lense in order to give us the best possible outcome or learning. Our lenses are formed through our experiences so therefor in theory, if we alter our experiences we can create new pathways. Simple right? Ha.
Safe to say, I have always been a big questioner of all things and looked through a lense to decipher my own truths, but it wasn’t until recently that I have made a decision to rewrite some of the truths that had altered my reality or how I viewed myself. To rediscover the true essence of being me. unfiltered and revisit the possibility that I believe in. The thing is, having this concussion has allowed me to appreciate the magnificence of the brain, and its ability to rewire and recreate new pathways all of the time. Each experience, creates a pathway of understanding, a truth, but as quickly as this can be formed, it can also be rewritten. The power of the mind to recreate your reality as you wish to see the world is just as a powerful tool as your external experiences you face along your path redetermining new perceived truths. As a simple example, try brushing your teeth with the opposite hand. At first it is nearing impossible, but after a while it becomes almost natural. The pathways are opening new circuits and your brain and body are creating new pathways of possibilities. It may not be the easiest thing but learning something new isn’t often all that easy.
When we are young, we are as impressionable as ever and it is often in these early phases of life that many of these truths are formed. For the most part, it’s not you deciding that these are truths, it’s you believing that they are because other people have said so. As my brain continues to heal and reform its pathways, I am taking this as an opportunity to take a deep dive and rewrite some of these perceived truths. There are many basic examples of me as an impacted child in this world by small but very impressionable comments that were made. For example, being told that I had no rythym, couldn’t dance, couldn’t sing, left me with a belief that this was true and because of this, because I wasn’t good at it, or someone had told me I couldn’t, I simply didn’t. My philosophy was it was much ‘safer’ to stick to what I knew and was good at so I didn’t have to relive those experiences. To think how much time I missed out on dancing, singing and playing music because I simply believed I couldn’t. Well, here I am, questioning this truth and deciding to do something about it. I believe I can and I am now learning the guitar, singing, dancing and recreating new pathways that reconnect with the essence of these experiences. I am refinding my feet, my voice & my rhythm. And it feels great. Well most days. It’s admittedly a little scary as those inner voices that perceived these truths are real for almost 3 decades don’t just fade away immediately. It will likely take me sometime to go public (if ever) but it’s a start. And as I begin to learn, other pathways are formulated, reopening the window of possibility once more. I believe these are gifts that everyone has, it might not fit the mold of what others expect but everyone has a voice and whether you believe you can or can’t or if someone took this away from you when you were young, these expressions are so vital to celebrating life.
Another example that has been strongly wired into my existence. I have been told repeatedly there is no cure for diabetes. That I would be on insulin for the remainder of my life. This has and continues to be emphasised in almost every encounter. In fact, there is only a handful of people that have ever crossed my path, when I openly shared my hopes and dreams to withdraw for insulin that they united in the possibility of this with me. But I have to admit, my beliefs, my innate knowing, & feelings of possibility have been unquestionably compromised by my experiences. I believe that the innate healing capabilities and potential here is still being discovered. Science is changing daily and the understanding here is only limited by what we think we know now. But if we allow this to formulate as a truth, a belief, however aligned it feels or not, then that will be the reality. Research wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t a belief in the changing lense by which we see the world. New hypothesis, changes everyday, all depending on the lense by who is creating the research. I believe in the choices I make in healing each and everyday and this is goverend by my belief in the possibility. This is a long journey for me and I have been on a rollarcoaster with it for sometime now. But it always circles back to belief. And while it might take sometime to reformulate these pathways, heal and find my balance, I believe that this is a journey that I am meant to take. Diabetes may be a bit of a strong example here but there are a plentiful amount of other examples in health that I could use. If enough people tell you your back/knee is stuffed and there is nothing more you can do, then this truth can quite easily compromise or formulate a belief and become a truth. Your hope of healing, of feeling free of it, quite quickly diminishes. But what if you believed in YOU, in your ability to heal, what if you told yourself each and everyday that it is possible. Then surely your reality would look a little different. I’m not trying to suggest anything is cureable, or to question all diagnosis, or contradictory to what some may think, I believe medicine, science and healing all has its place. At the end of the day it is only YOU that can determine the impact, the truth, the acceptance or what is possible. For some there might no longer be a choice. Others may have made those decisions for you, your health and now you live the best you can with the circumstances you have in front of you. All I’m suggesting is that there is an option to look at your lense in which you connect to the outcome you desire. In any given situation, there is always a choice. Everyone’s journey is different. Acceptance is a huge part of the road of healing and so is your relationship to whatever it is. Only you dictate how you live your life, or you can see the lesson, learning and take what you need to support you in your own world of healing and growth. Perhaps even reignite your own level of possibility within.
Then there is a less obvious beliefs that often get a little narrowed by our perception of reality and what is possible. For example, I have always felt a strong belief in universal laws like what you gift you receive. Living a life of abundance. Of Love, Connection and unity. I have often strived for these. I have set many intentions. Added mission and purpose statements. Yet somewhere along the way, I began to feel the distance of these realities. Many conversations, many people shared in these beliefs, yet, the world emphasised a different reality. An undertone of having to do it on your own, of success and failure, of needing to prove yourself, of weakness in asking for help and support, of scarcity and holding on tightly. Of richness and poverty. Of mountains too steep to climb. Of needing to conquer. This competitive undertone paves many truths that can easily redefine our beliefs. Beliefs like, not being good enough, having to prove ourselves over others, needing to be perfect, always having to win, always pushing, working tirelessly, making ends meet, never taking a sick day, nothing is affordable, getting what you deserve etc.
All of these complex realities that create the reality in which you see your truth. It is a hard world out there. Only the fittest survive. But these examples, this undertone, missed the opportunities in what could be created when we choose a different belief a difference lense. It is possible to rewire these truths and recreate the reality we hope to see. Imagine a world, living simply, following your heart desires and passions, exchanging to ensure your needs and that of your families were met, gifting what you can, openly receiving, a world of abundance and lightness and freedom. A world that supports you. A world of abundance. Imagine the world you always hoped for, those childhood dreams, that fairy tale or that little piece of land that you have been dreaming of forever. Imagine these realities formulating new pathways, new possibilities. Your energy, your world and the way you see the world is forever changing and you can be the orchestrator of it all.
Well that’s what I believe and for the first time in my life, I am taking a leap into the unknown, a choice to rewire these circuits, rewrite some truths and live my life in a way that reclaims the ‘possibility’ in all things this world has to offer. I’m not saying it is going to be easy, I am just choosing to live differently than I have before and seeing what new pathways are created as a result. Testing the power of these beliefs and intentions and learning how I can reclaim the reality I hope to see by choosing to live it. Accepting fully all of what has brought me to this moment, in absolute gratitude, as without all these moments, all the highs and lows, loves and heartaches, successes and failures, stumbles/falls, injury & illness & countless experiences this world has offered me, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I may choose to rewrite some truths, alter some beliefs but there is equally so much I will carry with me as this is all part of what makes me ‘me.
