Who decides what is possible and what is not? For most of us, what is possible is constructed in our minds and set as fact and never questioned. What we are capable of lives in the illusion of being finite. We tend to live in the restrictive parameters of our self and socially imposed limits and the confines of reason. My mother always told me “anything is possible.” This has been one of the greatest of the many gifts she gave me, and only now am I gaining an understanding of the power of this assertion she spoke to me.As a child, it seemed, well, impossible that anything was possible. My brother and I would quiz my mother endlessly about this "unreasonable" statement that she frequently imposed on our young minds. We would think up the most unlikely occurrences our young selves could muster, and quiz her and her bold assertion—“Can it snow in the summer? Can animals talk? Can people fly?” The answer was always the same…"Anything is possible!"
The older I got, the more the idea of infinite possibility dimmed to a somewhat absurd proposition in my adult awareness. What I saw as possible became steadfast by the outer world and unquestioned in my mind. What seeped into my thinking were the commonly held ideals of the limitations that we human beings cling to. Limits, borders and impossibilities crisscrossed my world and disguised themselves as common sense, safety and reason. In my adult life, when I would complain to my mother about the limits I encountered, my frustrations and self doubts her maddening reply was -- “anything is possible.” My reaction to that then frustrating answer became one of contempt, “how could an educated, mature woman still believe such an idea? Does she not have eyes? Can she not see the limits of this world?"
I have come to understand now that her vision was keen. And what she saw was not limited to her eyes and mind but that her insistence that all is possible was seen through the lens of her soul. This wisdom my mother presented me with recently became a glowing and profound seed in my consciousness. A seed that has germinated within me and has brought me back to my childhood questions of what is possible. So, on New Year’s Eve, I did the “impossible.” I walked on fire!
To the reasoning mind fire walking seems reckless, dangerous and an impossibility that bare feet could do such an act. However, I am here, feet intact to tell you that it is possible and for that matter, my mother was right. Anything is possible. Our minds, our precious reasons, and our fears are the only limits holding us back, and they ensnare us like a steel trap! I have been examining these traps for the past year or so and as I came upon my fortieth birthday last April, I felt called to walk on the coals. The past decade was a tumultuous one for me. Many times I felt it grabbed me by my feet and dragged me through a bed of hot coals; so the deeper I came to understand the limits I existed in and held for myself, the more I longed to break through them. Instead of being dragged, I wanted to walk upon the coals; a symbolic act carried out physically that would break the chains of my self-imposed limitations. I wanted to do the impossible, and I did.
Now I not only pass on the wisdom and seemingly frustrating reply that anything is possible to my kids, but they have witnessed it as well. Yes, they think I am nuts! They roll their eyes when I proclaim that anything is possible and tell them to examine why they think they can’t do something instead of just accept the illusion. But the seed of infinite possibility is planted within them, as it is in you as well. Examine your perceived limits, examine what you think is impossible and then do it. Walk through fire! Make a resolution this year to do the impossible and see where it takes you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
If you ever want to fire walk contact my friend Stephanie Foy Email: stephaniefoy@aol.com
She is a Certified Firewalk Instructor and a practitioner of Shamanic Medicine, Theta Healing and CranioSacral Therapy. She dedicates her life to healing, she believes in and is passionate about the innate power of the human spirit.
