Just a Balloon My two-year-old watched in delight as I blew up balloons for his birthday. The next morning, he saw one of the balloons floating on the floor. He got scared and came running to me, his body trembling. I picked up the balloon.
“Yosef, it’s a balloon.”
He continued to cling to me trembling with fear. I took a new balloon and blew it up for him, showing him that the floating object is no different than the delightful balloon he loved the day before. I picked up the balloon in my hand and held him with the other. I gently acknowledged and then made him confront his fears.
He is no longer afraid of the balloon.
It hit me. What are our fears? What are we really afraid of? Are the fears that we experience of not getting-what-we-want, of being alone, of tests and challenges – are they real? Or are they figments of our imagination, no different than a balloon…
What happens to my body when I experience fear? Do I tense up? Do I feel my heart pounding? Am I stressed? Would it be better to acknowledge my fear and then, with a lot of faith and courage, confront it and let it go? Let’s try.
“Yosef, it’s a balloon.”
He continued to cling to me trembling with fear. I took a new balloon and blew it up for him, showing him that the floating object is no different than the delightful balloon he loved the day before. I picked up the balloon in my hand and held him with the other. I gently acknowledged and then made him confront his fears.
He is no longer afraid of the balloon.
It hit me. What are our fears? What are we really afraid of? Are the fears that we experience of not getting-what-we-want, of being alone, of tests and challenges – are they real? Or are they figments of our imagination, no different than a balloon…
What happens to my body when I experience fear? Do I tense up? Do I feel my heart pounding? Am I stressed? Would it be better to acknowledge my fear and then, with a lot of faith and courage, confront it and let it go? Let’s try.
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