My house has 40 stairs from the sidewalk to the main floor. 

Every day, usually several times a day, I have to get a forty-pound 2-year old and all our groceries, bags and other belongings (i.e., pugs) up and down those stairs. 

So as soon as she could walk, I made it my personal mission that Londyn be safe and self-sufficient on the stairs, as soon as humanly possible.

And most of the time, it’s all good. 

But once, when she was with a nanny, she had an accident on one particular staircase in our home. 

She’s fine going up, 100% of the time. But every single time we go down together, I hold her hand tight to make sure she doesn’t fall. On top of that, I walk one step ahead of her, so that even if she were to stumble, she’d fall right into me and no harm would come to her. 

Ninety-five percent of the time, she’s perfectly happy to go up and down this particular staircase, hand in hand with me. 

But occasionally, she’ll realize that the dogs aren’t coming with us, or that she’s left her doll or her hoodie upstairs, and she’ll look backwards.

When that happens, she gets wobbly and pulls against me. Her safety is my number one priority, so immediately whatever I’m carrying gets wobbly as I start attending to her. And I have to slow way down to coax her back into looking in the same direction as we’re walking. 

I hear myself saying in a cheery, sing-songy voice: “Look in front of you!” “Watch your steps!” “Watch where you’re going!” “Don’t look back!”

Eventually, we get on the same page.

But twice since her accident, something has happened where she has a little flash of a memory and freezes up. She just stops, cold in her tracks. The first time this happened, she actually just shook her head “no” and sat down on the steps, before I even realized what had happened. I had to drop all our stuff to the floor and just pick her up. 

But the second time, I didn’t pick her up. 

Just the other day, she had one of her fright moments. Instead of picking her up, like she wanted, I stopped and set all our stuff down on the stairs.

Then, I sat right down next to her, picked her up and put her on my lap, making sure I was exactly eye to eye with her. 

I made sure she was calm and paying attention. I smiled at her. And then I said: 

“Listen, Londyn. Do you know Amma will never leave you on these stairs? I will always be RIGHT HERE. You hold my hand tight, and I’m going to stand RIGHT HERE, right in front of you. I’m right here with you. Your Amma always has your back. Always always always. I’ve got you. Okay? ”

She smiled the smile of a thousand toddler teeth, nodded, and then walked right on down the stairs holding my hand, like the baby boss lady she is. 

Why am I telling you this? 

Because you are like Londyn. 

And your Inner Being is like me, holding your hand on the stairs of your life. 

Your Inner Being knows exactly where you are going. 

It is guiding you into the full flow and current of life, through the experiences that will form the most joyful, successful and abundant version of you. 

Your Inner Being speaks to you through those “shackles on” and “shackles off” feelings you get at every decision point in your life. 

Your Inner Being speaks to you through the impulses and inspired ideas that come to you, the ones that put you in the perfect place at the perfect time. 

Your Inner Being speaks to you through the beautiful options that light up before you with ease, when you step out into a life goal or direction that feels resonant to you, even though you have no idea how you’ll pull it off. 

And your Inner Being speaks to you through the desires, dreams and callings you’ve had your whole life: the ones that won’t go away, even though you run from them or hold yourself back from fully fulfilling them. 

They just keep coming, no matter how small you want to play. No matter how much you want to get in your own way, with procrastination and chronic distraction.

And as long as you hide and hold yourself back from your own dreams, you live in a chronic state of inner tension. It’s like an inner tug of war. That’s what it feels like when you refuse to go where your Inner Being is calling you to go. 

You don’t have to live that way. 

When you get a dream or desire in your heart, your Inner Being is like me with Londyn: it always has your back.

You will be guided as you step forward. But you can only be guided when you step forward! You can only see the magical, masterful next steps in your life light up before you, step by step.

I can’t protect Londyn if I stand at the bottom of the stairs. I’m right there with her. Step by step.

When you have a soul-level intention, but you resist it by looking backwards at all your past so-called failures, traumas or disappointments, not only do you hold yourself back, you also obscure from yourself all the assisting forces that are always trying to help you. 

And when you have a soul-level intention or goal, not one you set based on status or money, but one you set because it felt like a gift you were giving to yourself when you committed to do it… when you have a goal like that and you resist it by just sitting down on the stairs, you deny yourself access to the steady, stabilizing stream of Limitless Love and Infinite Intelligence that is trying to help you get where you’re going. 

Now, stopping to take a seat isn’t actually the end of the world, because in that place of stuck and struggle between you and your own Inner Being is where you begin to learn exactly how covered and safe you are, exactly how much help you really have. 

If you get still during those times, and turn your attention inward with the right practices and focus, you’ll see exactly how safe and abundant this Universe and your life really, truly are.

Every time you have an eye-to-eye with your Inner Being like this, you come out like Londyn did after our conversation: with new clarity, calm and confidence: a new sense of your own power, safety and excitement about the adventures ahead at the bottom of the stairs . 

Listen: I know the stairs can be scary. 

But on the other side of the stairs — on the other side of your fear  — is the whole rest of your wonderful life. 

So as you start envisioning the changes you want to make to your life NOW so things never go all the way back to normal after this pandemic, please catch these principles: 

#1: Don’t look back. 

When you’re tempted to tell yourself all the old stories of struggle, disappointment and incompletion, just say to yourself: “that was then this is now.” 

Say it gently, with great compassion and warmth for yourself .

And then start looking for the revelations, insights, clarity or new realities that came to you through your past disappointments and are coming to you now, on the other side of this crisis, too. 

#2: And don’t sit down. (Unless you really need to.)

Keep taking little baby steps to go where your Inner Being is calling you to go. 

It helps if you keep your nervous system in good shape. 

It helps if you keep your spiritual system in good shape.

It helps if you stay connected to your Source and your resources. 

And you do this by building the muscle of a soothing, grounding, energizing Daily Ritual, like the one I teach in Do Your Dream.

Catch this principle: You CAN get very far in life without ever running down the stairs.

Just keep taking one, imperfect step at a time, and the occasional bigger, bolder move… and soon, you’ll feel the wave of self-respect and inner peace that comes from aligning your vision, your identity, your beliefs and your actions. 

That’s how you get in the flow, and start fulfilling your potential as you were designed to be fulfilled. 

Head up + heart out,

P.S.: If you’d like my help overcoming old patterns of self-sabotage so you can come out of this quarantine taking better care of yourself, no longer playing small and finally fulfilling your potential, join me in the Do Your Dream program starting June 1st. 

In this 21 day program, you’ll learn  how to overcome the fears, distractions and negative mindsets that have held you back in the past, so you can build beautiful momentum on your self-care and life goals.

<< Learn more about my most accessible and affordable program, here: soultour.com/doyourdream

Tara-Nicholle Nelson, MA, Esq.
Founder + CEO of SoulTour

@taranicholle on FB | TW | IG | LI

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