I once remember TV program which aired a long time ago on the black and white version of “The Twilight Zone.” Remember what I am about to describe is black and white….the opening scene with that familiar scary music shows a woman walking down a long hall. She puts her key into the door and opens it. The camera pans to the door opening and all she and the audience can see is black. Of course she walks straight in and you see the faith hall light reflect off of her coat. The audience sees her hand reach up to pull a string on a bare bulb and then she screams and falls to the floor and the program goes black and cuts away to a commercial…….(imagine scary music here!)
What an image picture in black and white! The human mind can terrify anyone if we let it run amuck. What is running amuck up there in yours?
Who brings light to the hidden things in your life?
Who uncovers the true feeling and counsel of your heart?
These are heavy questions indeed, and they are the very things which cause us to be depressed, worried, stressed, nervous, anxious, and any other word that describes what these three questions bring up in your own mind and heart.
Did you feel your heart pounding and your eyes racing ahead as you read that story in the first paragraph, trying to find out what was going to happen? This is exactly what we do in life. We do this with gossip, entertainment and news programs whose sole functions is to egg you on and keep you coming back to hear the next horrible, audacious thing that so and so is doing, that might happen or that maybe will…….we all get caught up in this distraction.
What in your life can withstand the bright light of day? If I walked into your life right now, what would I find? Would you be frantically trying to stuff something into a closet, in a drawer, look in the mirror to smooth your hair and clothes, turn out the lights and turn off all the noise so I wouldn’t think you were home, hide?
Hey, we all have things that we would rather no one know about. So if you are embarrassed about something, or trying to cover it up or hide it….what is the reason behind that? When I coach clients, I often find that these hidden things in the dark places have long run their course and no one remembers or even cares anymore. In some cases, the person can’t remember why that thing over there in the corner is there, much less why it is there or what it meant. All they know is that there is lots of emotion tied to the thing and it is burden to carry around.
I challenge you to shine a bright spotlight into your own life and bring along a big leaf bag and start cleaning the place up and dusting all the cobwebs and keep the light on so you know what’s in there and why its there, the new year is coming.
Instead of “Spring Cleaning” start a new tradition: “Year End Cleaning.”
Oh…..you want to know what happened next?…….Cut back from commercial, the hallway light expands to show her reach up and grab the string and there is a monkey paw tied to it and she screams and faints…….AHHHHHHH the joys of black and white TV!
