and want more of it?” In the clutches of unrelenting fear, anxious about
where her next meal would come from, she couldn’t see how she was
creating the disaster she dreaded. Not for a second did she imagine there
might be another response to her situation.
Natasha had grown up with parents who exuded great anxiety around
money. Her father worked all his life to save, while her mother
constantly worried about not having enough. Although the family wasn’t
poor by any means, Natasha inherited the message that one’s sense of
worth is intertwined with how much one possesses. Her parents were
never able to pursue lives that were true to who they were because of
their attachment to their savings account. Forever penny pinching,
restraining themselves, they spurned life’s bountiful offerings because of
their pervasive anxiety about the future. In this parental life-script lay
the roots of Natasha’s attachment to luxury and extreme fear of ordinary
simplicity.
Once Natasha was able to realize that this script was part of her
parents’ legacy, she chose to accept her reality as it was. From this place
of acceptance, she then crafted an authentic emotional response.
Realizing her rejection of her husband was a reflection of her own inner
terror, she reached out to him again. Together they started a nonprofit
organization to help single women get back on their feet. Although they
never achieved the financial status they previously enjoyed, their life
was abundantly blessed with the gratification that comes from making a
difference in the lives of others.
michael s
(Michael S)
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