Have you ever tried pouring a full quart of milk into a thimble? I’m sure the answer is no. Your reason would be that once the thimble got full, the milk would simply spill over onto the floor. Obviously, in order to hold more milk, the thimble would have to be expanded or exchanged for a larger container. A similar phenomenon occurs in life. Your mind has the capability of creating different-sized visionary vessels for you. If it molds a small container, as happens with low self-esteem, worthiness, and expectations, and a large and empowering thought or opportunity arrives, due to the limited capacity of the vessel, you would be unable fully to pursue it as a real possibility. It would be too overwhelming a concept and therefore an uncontainable choice regardless of your education, intelligence, or talent.
The way out of this dilemma is to change your perception of the size, shape and permanency of your current receivership vessel. You want to entertain the possibility that in addition to being exchangeable, your current entitlement container is malleable, resilient, and expansive. In addition, you won’t die or insult the container, by tinkering with its size or exchanging it for a larger, more prosperous, and rewarding one.
Just as the snake knows when to shed its skin, in order not to strangle itself by self-confinement, so must we trust and risk that we won’t lose our entire identity by discarding or expanding a familiar yet restricting container. Similarly, just as the caterpillar lets go of its old identity before it ever transforms into a butterfly, so must we have the courage to say goodbye to an obsolete container before spinning ourselves a more expansive and vibrant one.
Anytime you feel unable to expand your container, attempt to uncover where your limiting feelings, thoughts, and attachments are emanating from. Most of the time you will discover they were born when you formed permanent conclusions regarding painful childhood experiences. Unfortunately, many of these obsolete fears and frozen perceptions are still running your life and coloring your world, even though the current circumstances and realities are now totally different.
In addition, be aware we often receive a lot of emotional mileage (love, concern, interest) by holding onto a limiting and needy container. Sometimes, in order to create a larger vessel, we will have to risk losing the attention we are currently receiving from others. A powerful question to ask yourself is; "If there is a chance my receivership container has a larger capacity than I think it has, then whose incorrect belief system have I bought into?" Often times the answer will be found in the dynamics of the family, a close friend, or teacher.
Keep remembering that by facing your fears and stretching your self-entitlement container, you will develop the ability to experience and realize even more of your latent potentiality. We can all learn an important lesson from Auguste Rodin, the brilliant French sculptor, who believed that our mission in life was to grow ourselves into what we were really meant to be.
