The thing about toad patrol…

Posted by LeeAnn on March 1st, 2010 at 04:34pm

“If I could put fear and doubt aside, what would I really want to do with this one precious life?”
– A paraphrase of Mary Oliver by Sheri Gaynor

I have met the fear and doubt patrol in many forms over the years; those voices that shriek, rant, or repetitively recite the “what if’s” or you “can’ts” at ad-nauseum.   Each of us has a favorite set of voices we use to stop us cold.  Sheri Gaynor in Creative Awakenings calls her voices the Venomous Toad Committee, whose job was to redirect away from the possibility of failure should she get serious about following a new path.

Part of settling the old west was to round up thieves.  Part of the journey of the Divine Cowgirl is to round up the voices that would steal our dreams and intentions for this life time.  I call it toad patrol. The interesting thing about toads is that when they think they are in danger they secrete an irritating fluid on their skin as defense against possible predators or danger.  Aversion therapy works for toads, however when we allow the voices of fear to hold us back from our dreams or avert us from our unique gifts and talents it is time to round up and transform the toad patrol.

Nothing can hold you back without your permission.  Nothing.

The toads live in your head.  Your dreams live in your heart.  Dreams unfold with attention and permission to unfold as part of a journey of discovery.  With all journeys nothing goes as planned AND it is how we respond – meaning how we talk to ourselves when detours and challenges come up.

The whole point of following your specific dream is to grow. Once you say YES to what ever is calling you or living your dream, you have agreed to your own unique IEP – Individualized Education Plan. (yes, we are all special needs!) With that plan also brings us to redefining success and failure.  Failure is always based on a judgment.  Judgment is always based on comparison.  Quite frankly – it is none of your business how someone else does this life time – keep your nose in your own dream!!!

There is a BIG difference between judgment and evaluation. Judgment means to form an opinion or conclusion.  In our culture we seem to take great pride in judging and in being a judge. Our toad committee takes great pride in judging and pre-judging possibilities.

Evaluation comes from the word “evalur” which means to find value.  Part of living a dream is to reflect and collect the valuable learnings along the way and to share what you have learned.  That’s how discoveries are made and new things are invented.

It is up to you what you do with your toad patrol. For me I decided to transform them into frogs.  I wasn’t sure I could completely silence the croaking so I gave the chorus or croaks new meaning.

Some of you may be wondering what the difference is between a toad and frog besides the skin thing.  Frogs have long legs for leaping.  I have an acronym for frog – Fully Rely on God.  When my toads get a bit too loud, I imagine myself with a magic wand that turns the toads of doubt to frogs which leap past adversity – and in my world.. All things are possible with God or Source!

Until next time…

PS.: If you are in the North Central Washington area… be sure to check out the upcoming class offerings and stay tuned for new on-line versions soon!  Don’t forget to leave your email – from time to time I send out freebies and specials. Wouldn’t want you to miss out!

(Photo Credit: Randy Son Of Robert)

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