One of the other Rivers on the Medicine Wheel is the River of Challenge. On this river we are forced to take a good hard look at what it is we believe in and what we are willing to do in order to personally grow. This can be tough decision making. We are so used to the Ostrich approach or the Deer caught in the headlights approach, that rarely do we take the Mountain Lion approach, which is to leap and know that you will either find a safe and secure place to land or you will learn to fly.
The River of Challenge forces us to go within and face our personal fears, anxieties and powers. I am always amazed at how often people will be more afraid of their own power than they are of their fears and anxieties. I think that says a lot about how our society systematically disempowers us and then praises us for being sheep instead of lone wolves. As we meet the challenges in our lives, it would be nice if we could actively do so from a place of personal empowerment instead of one of personal weakness. No wonder people struggle with this river. It challenges us to grow a spine! It forces us to reach into the depths of our souls and find the courage that we never knew existed.
But once we do, what we find is a lot of resources for dealing with change, the unknown and helping others to cope with all of that. We discover that we can ride the rapids and we can yell "Weeeeee!" at the top of our lungs with a great sense of adventure instead of freezing up and closing our hearts down for fear of that "Weeee!" being heard. With the "adventure wiring" in working order, we are then able to truly enjoy the ride and celebrate every single milestone in our lives, unashamed and completely from a place of personal authenticity. We are able to live and to breathe and to know that all is as it should be. So rock on with that River! After all, it really serves no one for us to pretend that we have no power, least of all ourselves.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
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2 comments:
Going within to face our fears, anxieties or powers with the attitude of a Mountain Lion sounds exciting! Consider the awesome power a cougar possesses - terrifying in their strength and afraid of nothing. Armed with claws and fearsome teeth, ever watchful, able to hear a mouse fart a mile away in a high wind. And these are just some of its physical attributes. I'd love to experience the world as a cougar, if only for a moment; to think, to feel, to reason, and to use feline stealth to track prey, whether real or imagined. I don't think any personal fears or anxieties would hold the same power after that...
Hi Gail,
You are so right about that. And you can indeed for at least a moment experience it that way. Do a shamanic journey and invite the medicine of Cougar to enter and guide you. You will be amazed!
Blessed Be
Trent
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