Permission

Do I have "permission" to grow?  Do you have permission to grow?

On the other hand, are there "oughts" channeling your life and my life that deny us permission to grow?

I think these are important questions, at least for me.  Let me explore this a bit.

I ought to work hard.  I learned from my parents, and from life, that working hard is "right to do".  What I didn't learn was the catch:  work has value because. . .

• because it lets you earn to buy shelter, food, and clothing.  (A library card gets you books!)
• because it lets you save a bit for old age, and times of unemployment
• because it feels good to work at something worthwhile, especially when you accomplish something of value
• because we are made for effort, for expending energy, for a sense of well-being when we produce something

The "because" seems important, as I think about it.  Work is part of growing.  It must not become, in my life, a substitute for growing.  So many of us feel obligated to put work on the highest pedestal rather than one of the steps leading up to the pedestal.  Work becomes the blockade, the road block, the barrier denying us permission to grow when we consciously or unconsciously make it a barrier.

Please notice that expending effort to learn, to produce, to carry my part of the load, to earn a wage is all good, and even necessary.  But I see this as a stepping stone leading to personal and social growth.  Do I have permission to grow?  Or has work become such an obsession that my growth is blocked?  The permission is internal.  So maybe the question could be:  do I permit myself to grow?

I'll continue these questions in future blogs.  Meanwhile, what do you think?  Leave a comment and let us know.