Wall and Hammer In-sight
for breaking through your barriers
The Story
Once upon a time there was a girl. A girl who wanted so much in life that, when she hit a brick wall, she was so preoccupied with sadness from hitting the wall, she had a hard time seeing how she could ever break through. She spent so much time wishing for a bird to come fly her over that she ignored the hammer resting at her feet. All she needed to do was pick up that hammer and start swinging. Sure, it was heavy, but in time, she would find her rhythm, grow some calluses on her hands, and work her way through to find all of her hopes and dreams awaiting on the other side.
This was a story I wrote for myself years ago. It was tucked away in the midst of an autobiography that I have yet to finish. It was one of those little gems that helped me see things more clearly at a time of roughness, that had been waiting for me to remember and rediscover…and now share with you.
The In-sight
With this little story, the visual is pretty clear. You are the girl or boy at the wall, wishing yourself over. But then you notice a hammer at your feet. Could be big, could be small. Whatever is comfortable. Then, just start chipping away. Don’t overthink it. Each swing feels a bit better. You’re getting your rhythm. Crunch. Crunch. The rock is crumbling.
Before you know it, you see a little light. You have pierced the wall, now see your way through. Swing, crunch. Swing, crunch. Gets easier, then easier. Now you are through. There is light. You are there. You are through.
Variations, Tips, and Possibilities
Don’t beat yourself up for running into the wall and not seeing the hammer. We’ve ALL done it. For small things or for entire spans of our lives. We wish. We pray. We hope. And sometimes it takes us that long to realize our own power or strength. We were meant to go through those things. We were meant to take that long. Everything happens for a reason. Now, swing.
I find I have walls in some categories and not in others. These walls for this in-sight are different walls than those we build as defense mechanisms. These are blockade walls we erect or that arise as limitations to our dreams or our true selves. Both kinds of walls are there to protect us. But both can be detrimental. For more on the other kind of wall and a way of protecting without fortifying, see the Pushing Away In-sight and the Shooting Bollards In-sight.
As you may have read somewhere else on this site, I am a little bit of a self-proclaimed sci-fi and superhero geek. Thus the perfect pairing with this in-sight would also be Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. He can muster it from anywhere and it has a power beyond any mere object. If you are feeling particularly powerful one day, be Thor. Summon your hammer. Or maybe you aren’t feeling powerful. Let Mjolnir do the work. Name it your own. Make it yours. Then, put it to work. It loves it.