I was mentioning about how much I’d learned from our summer dance camp experience last week. I wanted to share one of the more powerful growing opportunities that came our way during that time.
The kids (a group of 14 total) had been here four or five days together when the families I contracted to do concessions for the performances arrived with plans to camp out for the weekend so that they could work concessions both Friday and Saturday nights.
There were two mothers and three children, two boys, ages 8 and 10 and a toddler and they arrived in the middle of a very busy scene with everybody here in the midst of preparations for the show that was opening that night. The new arrivals put up their tents and got busy setting up their concession stand for the coming evening.
The two little boys were left to roam the grounds mostly unsupervised while all this was going on. It wasn’t until later that I realized that as a problem ….
Well … it rained the performance out completely that evening. We had to send the audience home (fortunately there weren’t many) and the kids were palpably disappointed not to get to perform… After all the hullabaloo of putting the outdoor stage under water proof wraps for the night, we were all bone tired and that’s when we found out from the kids that our visiting boys had been causing quite a bit of mischief.
Well, it was too late at night for us to do anything about it right then, so we all went to bed with the promise to “take care of them in the morning …. ”
That evening was definitely the low point of the whole week for me. I lay in bed, tossing and turning – completely unable to sleep. Even though I was tired, I had so much negative story going on in my mind that I just couldn’t rest. Finally I gave up trying; I realized that in order to relax I was going to have to find a way to get okay with the evenings events. I needed to befriend the rain and our two visiting “rowdy boys”, if I was going to be able to find peace.
So, as I lay there, I began to think about how these things might have happened FOR me (and us) rather than TO me. The more I thought about this, the more possibilities arose in my thinking. I could see how these events could have been designed to grow us – to teach and stretch us. I finally conceded that the rain had indeed been a good thing. Among other things, it helped us focus on the importance of appreciating the process, rather than being fixated totally on the outcome of a performance. The rain also tested our resolve, giving the kids the chance to experience perseverance and tenacity in the face of challenge.
And our rowdy boys? I realized, as I lie there contemplating, that they had simply acted out the role they had inadvertently been assigned as “outsiders”. I didn’t know exactly how I would handle the situation come morning but I knew it was a growth opportunity for all of us and I could see that the arrival of these little guys was no accident.
The next morning, life unfolded in such a way that I was given the chance to speak to both boys separately and alone before the rest of the community got moving. I told them their pranks had been discovered and shared with them a sincere apology for not including them in the community project. I was prompted to invite them to the community meeting after breakfast that morning and they, along with their moms, both came.
In the meeting, I was prompted to start off with an apology to the boys for not welcoming them into the community, for failing to introduce them and for not giving them the chance to be a part of this project that we were all involved in. We took time to do introductions. Each person there spoke. Everybody relaxed.
There was no blame or confessions demanded. The escapades of the two were not mentioned at all. The attention was on bringing these boys, who had been unconsciously pushed out, back into the circle. It was all about inclusion, rather than setting up further separation with a “us against them” mentality.
It worked. Not only did both boys stay out of trouble for the duration of the time that they were here, but they helped out in several ways. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how powerfully inclusion can work.
I love on-the-ground training opportunities such as these, when Source sets up a situation that’s so perfectly designed to demonstrate It’s principles. To me, this situation beautifully illustrates the laws of vibrational frequency.
Here’s what I mean ….
When we are in victim mentality, (“Why did this rain have to happen TO me?” and “Why are these boys being so bad? Why are they sabotaging us?”) (Remember, the simple definition of victimhood” is anytime we think something outside ourselves is causing our misery) we generate low frequency feelings (disappointment, resentment, doubt, fear, etc). Our emotional state is then transmitted and attracts to us happenings on that same vibrational frequency.
Because I was down that night after the performance, I knew it was imperative for me to adjust my frequency to a higher vibration. Otherwise I would be prone to a state of negative reaction from which I might well act in ways that would invite further drama and more unhappiness. This is why befriending the situation was so necessary. I needed to remember that the world is a friendly place again before I could see the gifts being offered us with the rain and in the situation with our visiting mischief-makers.
By the next morning, because I’d cleared my own negative thoughts, thus realigning with gratitude, I was able to freely respond to the promptings that guided me in the way to handle the situation with the boys.
And, of course, since my own frequency had been “upped” I was able to respond in a positive, calming way to what might otherwise have been an extremely unpleasant situation with two boys in trouble and their highly triggered parents.
Instead, there was no condemnation, no judgment; nobody got made into the bad guy. Instead the situation was handled so that everyone’s frequency went up. The law of vibration teaches that whenever we adjust our own frequency, everyone benefits. When I can hold my own higher frequency (i.e. peace and acceptance) then everyones mood is boosted incrementally. Harmony and peaceful relations result.
The lesson? When things happen that bring your emotional frequency down, look for the gift(s) in the situation, as a way to get yourself back in touch with gratitude … Gratitude ups your frequency and sets the tone for a more harmonious outcome to the situation.
Blessings, Lynne