Little Red Riding Hood …Walking through the Fears.

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What we most fear doing is usually what we most need to do.

 “Face our fears …     
      

Live our dreams.”

Little Red Riding Hood

Walking Through The Fears

Wearing a special red cloak of inner strength and power, Little Red Riding Hood sets out on a journey to claim her independence. She knows that in order to achieve this she must conquer some of her greatest fears in the forest of her past. It is time for her to let go of her dependency on external relationships so that she can move forward in her life with confidence and courage.

As Little Red Riding Hood steps into the dark woods, the snow begins to fall casting an eerie veil over everything.   Although the darkness feels scary and lonely she remembers she is not really alone, for a white dove is perched on her shoulder, symbolizing the Divine Guidance that lives within.

As she moves further into the forest she shudders from the cold and from the deafening silence of the darkness.  Sleep creeps in as her awareness begins to slip away. In the veil of sleep, her fears rise up. Although she cannot see anything, she feels a shadowy figure lurking behind her.  This shadow follows her everywhere she goes. She feels like a prisoner in her own heartbeat. Frozen with fear, she cannot even run away, for she realizes that there is no place to hide. Finally, she wakes up from the torment and calls out into the darkness, “what do you want from me?” All she hears is the pounding of her own heart. 

Again she ask in a much louder and more confident voice, “what do you want?” In the stillness of the forest, she breathes in a deep breath and quiets her mind. Echoing from the deep recesses of darkness, she hears a loud barking sound. It gets louder and louder. She tries to cover her ears but nothing can block out the deafening sounds. As the shadow creeps closer and closer, she can barely stand in her own skin. She takes another deep breath and starts to shake. Her whole body begins to tremble.

Too weak to stand, she falls into the snow as an explosion of tears erupt from the deep recesses of her body. She cries and cries from the depths of her soul. 

Exhausted by her tears, Little Red Riding Hood surrenders to a calm cleansing breeze which flows over her body.   Listening intently, she hears a soft yet angry message which seems to  rise out of the barking sounds but as she focuses more closely she realizes that the sounds are actually flowing out of her own heart. It is as if a small child is sobbing within. She ask again, “what do you want?” To her astonishment she hears, “you abandoned me in my time of need and you pushed me away. You looked for your power outside of yourself. How can I trust you to be there for me? How can I share my gifts with you when you will not listen to me? You worry about the entire world but you do not think of me. Don’t you know that I am what you seek, for everything in your world comes from within and is reflected out?”

Little Red Riding Hood begins to rock herself back and forth. Tears streaming down her face, she realizes that she has abandoned herself. She abandoned the little innocent child within.  Through her tears she begs for forgiveness and vows to try harder to stay connected to her inner child. She is amazed to learn that the love she has been seeking externally, has been right inside herself all along.

Thoroughly exhausted but confident and empowered, Little Red Riding Hood emerges out of the forest. As she stands in the clearing with the sun shining through, she feels a presence behind her. No longer fearful, she realizes the shadow is just a messenger delivering what she has long wanted to remember.

As the snow begins to stop, Little Red Riding Hood breathes a sigh of relief, she now knows that she does not need to seek her independence, for it has been with her all along. She merely needs to own it. She is aware that there will be times where she will fall back asleep, however since she found her way through the forest of darkness once, she is confident that she will be able to wake up again. Together with the child who lives in her heart, she will continue to move forward on her journey of life, creating new adventures and dreams one step at a time. 

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Little Red Riding Hood

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