Keys Lodged in his Back

This entry is part 5 of 8 in the series Meditate

Tiny ones, big ones, all wedged in there.

My son sighed and let his shoulders slump as if to say, “Duh, I can’t do that. Here’s why.”

He lifted his hand, turned it, and pointed behind him but a little bit downwards as if on his back.

I didn’t know what he was getting at so I moved to where I could see his back.

Inserted into his back were keys. They looked like old keys from old houses where they’re big and simple, but also beautiful and solid.

There were little ones and then big ones. Mostly copper or gold or rusted metal. Maybe they’d been there a while.

We communicated as we often do without words and he got across to me that he couldn’t necessarily so easily do what I was saying or suggesting because these keys were lodged in his back and they represented habits or actions from the past that are determining his future.

Mr. Solution here thought, “Well, let’s just take them out.”

But not all of them were bad or wrong or necessarily needed to be removed. They were his past, after all, for better or worse. But they were his habits and thoughts and they were influencing his present and his future.

How did we know which ones to remove and which ones to let be?

I waved my hands around his back slowly, as if scanning or feeling for something, anything. As I did it, a few of the smaller keys wriggled themselves loose and came to my hand as if they were magnetized.

“Hey,” he called out but quietly and curious. “What are you doing?”

Before I answered, I waved my hand once more and again some of the keys dislodged and came to my hand. I put my hand down low and shook my wrist as you do when there’s not a towel in the bathroom after you wash your hands. The keys dropped and disappeared.

“I’m just getting rid of some of these old keys you don’t need anymore,” I said.

He was cautious but deep down, he trusts me. He knows I’m in this for his best interests.

But for me, it was a visual version of how our past influences our present and our future.

What’s holding us back? What’s guiding us, consulting us, leading us and based on what information or experience? Can we change our habits? Can we remove some of those keys–even the bigger ones–and go about things in a different way in the present and future?

Based on how a few of the keys came out pretty easily, it seems so.

Which keys are “turning on” your decisions? Which ones do you need to get rid of?

Yep, this is a daring foray into my meditation and just one of the experiences I have on a daily basis because I open up, I allow the visuals and stories and messages to come through. I think I’m filing this under the series “Meditate.”
— Early Morning Bradley