(click play to hear me read this story aloud you…there’s voices in this one!)
I woke up late. Stumbled around in the dark, shoes on the wrong feet. Grabbed my car keys. No time to scrape all the ice off the windshield, it’s time to go. The sun hasn’t begun to rise yet.
Where am I going?
A near-empty tank, I start down the road. Only static on the radio, the backseat drivers begin to chatter.
Doubt: You don’t have any idea how to get there.
Fear: We’re gonna get lost. OMG, we are already lost!
Shame: Yep, once again, headed down the wrong road. No surprises here. It’s what everyone expects from you anyway.
Scarcity: When we make it, IF we make it, there will be no room for us! No food! We’ll starve! We’ll have missed it all!
They bicker with one another, but not enough to make me pull this car over.
Louder and louder, they become. Longer and longer, the road grows. There’s a hunger in my stomach, but I didn’t bring any snacks. The gas gauge is on E.
Despite it all, Doubt, Fear, Shame, and Scarcity convince me to pick up a hitchhiker. Depression joins them in the backseat.
They all become very quiet; depression takes up all the room now. Nearly suffocating, they gasp for air and, in unison, yell:
“ARE WE THERE YET?!”
I see a sign at the end of the road. I tell them to settle down. We’re so close now.
Doubt: Pfft. I doubt it.
Fear: It looks scary! Is it safe?!
Shame: Yeah right, you never make it anywhere.
Scarcity: But will there be room for us?!
Depression: No.
I grip the steering wheel tighter. The sign ahead—it’s coming into view. I see it now! Coasting on fumes, I see it clearly.
DEAD END.
The backseat erupts, full volume.
Fear: What happens now?! Are we going to die? We’re going to die!
Doubt: I knew it.
Shame: I knew it, too. You can’t do anything right. Never have, never will.
Scarcity: There’s literally nothing here!
Depression sits in silent sadness.
I open my car door, fall to the ground, with Fear, Doubt, Shame, and Scarcity getting louder still. Depression holds my hand and tells me they won’t let go. What’s more, I see that my car now has a flat tire.
Depression slowly nods and says, “I got you.”
I don’t hear the others anymore, only Depression. The others decide to head out, again with no map.
The whole sky is pitch black. It’s freezing cold. Why didn’t I wear socks?
Me: Will it always be this dark?
Depression: Yes. Always and forever.
In the distance, though, I see something. Faintly, but it’s there. I squint. Could it be—?
Depression: It’s nothing. Don’t bother. Look away.
Yet, something in me just can’t look away.
Depression, angrily: I told you it’s nothing! LOOK. AWAY.
But I can’t. The lights begins to get a tiny bit brighter. Is that the sun? Is it rising?
In the opposite direction I hear Fear shout back a warning: Don’t look at it! RUN!
Remembering they have no idea where they are going, I don’t listen. I watch the sun. It’s really rising. And what’s that? Another car? It’s coming down an entirely different road I hadn’t seen in the dark.
Doubt: It’s a mirage, you fool!
Shame: They are coming to laugh at you.
Scarcity: There’s no room for you!
The car gets closer. It’s shiny with poppy dance music coming from its speakers. The windows are down, and everyone is…singing?
They pull up next to me. I start to get up off the ground, but Depression pulls me back down. I’m so hungry. I feel so defeated. I close my eyes. Yet, the sun still rises.
Then, I feel Depression begin to let go. They no longer have a firm grip. They are being lifted away from me.
Me: Wait, where are you taking my friend?
Stranger: We are putting Depression in the cozy trunk, for now. Don’t worry, they won’t be in there forever. We will unpack them soon, we promise.
Me: Who are you?
They smile as they each introduce themselves, one by one.
I’m Health.
I’m Joy!
I’m Boundaries.
And I’m Positive Self-Esteem! Come on, let’s go. You drive.
Me: Where are we going? I don’t have a map.
I notice my stomach is no longer rumbling. In fact, it feels happy and full.
Confident Stranger: You don’t need someone else’s map. You’ve got me, and I’m riding shotgun.
Me: Well, who are you?
I’m Intuition.
Me: Okay, but how will I know when I’ve arrived?
Intuition: Trust me. You’ll know.
This is so VERY POWERFUL !!! Thank you for sharing your amazing gift !!!!
Beautiful and so very true!