Breaking free from the things that limit us

Author Gary Zukav in his book “Soul to soul” gives a powerful narration of man’s need to break free from all that he clings to in the name of security even when it limits him in life. 

It revolves around the story of a man who had been blind from birth.  He had never seen anything but blackness, so he did not know that there was anything else to see. 

One year a new operation was invented to give sight to just the kind of vision defect this man had. 

“I have good news for you,” said the doctor. “You will be able to see!” 

“What is it like to see?” asked the blind man as he had never had the experience.

The doctor and all of the man’s friends tried to explain what it was like to see, but the blind man could not quite fathom anything.

“I don’t understand what you mean by green,” he would say or “what is it like for the stars to be shinning in the sky?” At last it was clear to everyone, including the blind man, that no one could tell him what it was like to see, but he still had the opportunity of seeing if he wanted.

He thought about it again and again before he called the doctor. “Will I be able to use my cane when I see?” he asked.  “I don’t want to see if I can’t use my cane,” he said emphatically to the astonished doctor.

This blind man mirrors the psychology of most men who cling on to the same cane year after year to help navigate life’s journey. The cane of stubborn habits, prejudices, beliefs, superstitions, need for security, aversion for taking risks and leaving the comfort zone is dear to them. 

As the cane has seemingly been of immense assistance in steering past hurdles, men seldom get independent of their canes. 

They lean on to them for comfort, using them as an easy means to excuse themselves from venturing to unknown territories. These canes come as convincing alibis for any shortfall in rising to higher levels of personal development.  

In reality, this cane of comfort though of some assistance in one stage of life proves to limit men to forge ahead to the next higher stage in life. The canes that assist us in fact simultaneously limit us.
 They define our boundaries, shorten our horizons, shrink our vision and do not permit us to go beyond the areas where these canes cannot reach. 

Getting rid of our canes on the other hand will be a giant leap from a dim, limiting world into a whole new bright realm of opportunities and growth.