Last night I was watching the Charlie Brown Halloween special.... as I do every year. I grew up on these holiday specials and I still love to watch them .I am almost certain everyone reading this has seen at least a piece of this special. Or if not this one,, another of the Charlie Brown shows.
Charlie Brown is a lovable character. He is the underdog you root for throughout the show. He is insecure and frequently embarrassed by his friends.. Charlie Brown lacks self-confidence and because of that he appears full of anxiety.. He is relatable.....
In the Halloween episode when all the kids go trick-or-treating, you notice Charlie Brown's unfortunate ghost costume with way to many holes above the needed two eye cut outs. It is a
statement in and of itself. As they ring the doorbell all the kids get candy, except for Charlie Brown. He gets a rock in his sack. Not just once does he get a rock, but at every home. As the kids all cheer about the bounty from each home, the last to speak is Charlie Brown in his disappointed voice he says :
"I got a rock,"
We feel for him. We hope at the next home he gets something other than the nothingness that weighs him down more and more with each stop. But that does not happen. His bag is heavy with the weight of what be believes he deserves. It is expected. No one is surprised. Charlie Brown got rocks.
We all have been in situations where we believe we have been thrown rocks. Could be in relationships, in health, in finances.... really anywhere. Many times we can view these rocks as something that weighs us down and in time we expect rocks in our life. And boy do they start coming, furious and fast....
I had lots of rocks. And I sat with them and allowed them to weigh me down. I became a victim. I had pity parties with the rocks. And I used the rocks as my excuse for everything.
But when I began to accept the rocks things began turning around. What can I do with the rocks? What can I build with them? What can I create with them? The rocks were metaphors for my attitude. So, I began building and using the very thing that weighed me down - my anxiety/my rocks- and used them for getting out of my anxiety rabbit hole and into living a healthy life. And I did it. In time, I was no longer the girl that was weighed down with anxiety but the one that rose from it.
They say a picture tells a thousand words. I was at S.O.A.R., a woman's symposium the other day and a beautiful lady had this at her table ( thank you Maura) I had to buy it. Because it said everything.
Look what you can do with a rock.
What are you doing with your rocks? You got this...
Love Always, Lucie
Lucie Dickenson a wife and mom to three unique teenagers. She has just written her first book Overreacting: a memoir of anxious proportions. (YAY) !
As an anxiety coach, writer and speaker her hope is that something she has written resonates with another that is struggling. Her passion is helping others to truly understand that their life stories hold the key to healing and connecting with others.
You can order her book Overreacting: a memoir of anxious proportions here