Trapped

The question has been rolling around in my spirit since I read it two weeks ago. It is a question haunting me:

“Where am I trapped and unable to see it?”

This most simple questioning prayer seems beyond profound.

Is trapped the same as being stuck?

If you’ve been around Intentional Journey (formerly Get Control Of Your Life) very long, you know we are all about getting unstuck. We all get stuck in various aspects of our lives: dead-end jobs, life-sucking relationships, routine, habits, and thinking patterns that keep us from moving forward. I’ve worked very hard to get unstuck in the past couple of years.

I have a sense that it’s quite possible to get unstuck. If you get your foot “stuck in the mud,” You just get it out. But if you get your car stuck in the mud, it may take considerable effort to get it out. Point is: it seems doable, even if you have to get help.

But being trapped. What is that?

It reminds me of situations in which I felt stressed with no obvious way out, like not having money to pay a bill, feeling the panic of a dark and tiny enclosed space, or what it must be like to have an elephant on your chest.

You know flies get trapped in spider webs; then they become lunch.

Maybe you feel trapped because of too much rain or snow, and are “dying” to get out!

Or perhaps you have memories of an animal that has somehow become stuck, like a whale on a beach or a dog that has fallen in an icy pond.

What about you?

Where are you trapped and unable to see it?

We must come to terms with the reality that there are aspects of our character and personalities we are blind to. Others see them, but we don’t. Likewise, there are parts of us that are unknown, hidden to both others and ourselves. The goal is to increase self-awareness, listen to what others say about us, and expand our open selves. People with large open-selves tend to be mentally sound and enjoy healthy relationships. Success gets translated into various aspects of their lives.

So I guess in this post I offer no solution or even an explanation; just encouragement to ask and search. I simply throw out the question. “Where are your trapped and unable to see it?”

The Johari Window: