11 Sep Our Own Worst Enemy
The thrill of the hotel pool and waterslide had faded for the little girl in the polka-dot swimsuit. After an afternoon full of splashing and sliding with my girls and the other children, all savoring the last days of summer, she’d had enough and wandered off to a grassy area. Her attention was drawn to a garden hose, partially hidden among the plants, quietly sending a stream of water into the nearby bushes. Curious, she reached for it, her small fingers wrapping around the hose as she pulled it closer.
At first, she let the water trickle through her fingers, giggling at the cool sensation. She even leaned down for a delicate sip, as though she’d discovered her own secret drinking fountain. But with an accidental turn of the nozzle, the stream intensified, and suddenly, water was spraying straight into her face.
“Stop! Stop!” she shouted, trying to escape the spray by turning her head and shielding her face with her small hand. The problem was that the hand holding the hose kept the nozzle aimed directly at her face.
From across the pool, her dad’s voice cut through her shrieks: “You’re holding the hose! Just set it down!” But the little girl, caught up in her struggle, didn’t hear. The more she tried to escape the spray, the more she seemed to work against herself.
How often do we find ourselves in similar situations? We hold tightly to the very thing causing us distress, all the while begging it to stop. We panic, trying to control the effect, not realizing we have the power to control the cause. We become our own worst enemy and forget we have the power to let go.
From the grass, where the little girl stood struggling with the hose, something shifted. She loosened her grip and let it drop. The water fell away, and with it, calm was restored. She wiped her face, a bit stunned but smiling.
It’s a lesson we spend a lifetime learning and relearning: sometimes, the only way to regain peace is to let go.