Ropes that Tie Us Up

I am sure everyone knows that the elephant is a most powerful animal and under almost all circumstances all creatures allow him to have his way. But do you know that a domesticated elephant is tied up by one foot with a normal rope attached to a small pole which is inserted in the ground and he never tries to break this rope or uproot the small stick to which this rope is tied?! The simple reason is that he has been indoctrinated to think that the small rope tying him down is unbreakable and stronger than his natural strength. This belief is ingrained in his mind from childhood when he was tied with this rope which at that point was stronger than his natural strength and all his attempts to break it failed and caused him pain and injury. After several failed attempts became convinced that he cannot break this rope and accepts that he is destined to be tied with this rope and this pole for the rest of his life.



My purpose in telling this story was to point out the fact that not only can the strongest creature like an elephant be controlled by a disempowering belief system, but the majority of us human beings are also held back with such beliefs and we spend our entire lives tied with this weak link and never dare to use our natural strengths and capabilities to test our natural talents which have been given to us by the benevolence of God.



Our restraining ropes are usually our regional, emotional or cultural beliefs which somehow convince us that getting out of a circle can be fatal, dangerous, wrong, immoral, impossible and therefore forbidden.



These beliefs are sometimes created unconsciously, unintentionally and accidentally and with good intentions but at other times are created deliberately, with the calculated purpose and intention of controlling our energies and using them for the benefit of a society, group or purpose.



When a mother tells a child not to go out alone in the dark because there is a “BHAAW” sitting there, her intention is to safeguard the child from unforeseen dangers which may be lurking in the dark. Similarly, some principles and procedures are designed for enforcing discipline in a group like the Army, with the intention to train individuals for a greater purpose.



Apart from these, there are dozens of other motives in our world to control, mold, and use our capabilities or restrict our energies to be used for various reasons and goals.



Not all beliefs and principles are wrong but most of them restrict our power to chart new routes or experiment with new ways to achieve our dreams.



Let me tell you about my own rope that kept me tied up for most of my life. I spent a large part of my life thinking that I cannot write or explain my viewpoint in English except on the topics I was trained to write about; namely financial information. At one point of time I was so terrified that I could not muster the courage to stand up and explain my point of view in the presence of a few people who were strangers, despite knowing fully well that I knew the subject better than most of them. These beliefs were not due to any of my natural weaknesses. They were a result of deliberate/unintentional attempts of a few of my well-wishers who either purposely or unintentionally had robbed me of my confidence by magnifying my small mistakes.



I do not want to go in the details of how by accident or by effort I overcame these fears but can tell you that now I am not scared of expressing myself in front of anyone irrespective of how powerful, influential or important he is. I am also the proud author of a published book titled “The Accidental Gypsy,” which is available on almost all the outlets such as Amazon, etc. I am also currently working on two books and have written dozens of articles on social media.



I can assure you if I can do it after being a prisoner of my own fears for 40 years and breaking the chains that held me back at the age of 65 anyone can. All he must do is consistently pull on the ropes restricting him and believe me they will break into 100 pieces.

DO NOT BE AFRAID. JUST TRY