It’s 2 a.m. and little Sally runs to her parents’ room exclaiming that there is a monster under her bed.
“Momma! Papa! There is a monster under my bed!”
Grunting, her father shuffles down the hallway toward her room. Sally follows close behind, holding tightly to the back of his shirt. He reaches for the light and Sally gasps as she takes refuge behind her guardian.
“Sally, darling, don’t be silly. There are no such things as monsters. It’s just your imagination.”
“No, Papa! I saw it! It was a monster”
She seems so sincere, so afraid, and so honest that her father can’t help but believe her in some way. He bends down and checks underneath the bed to ease her fears. As he has promised, there are no monsters under the bed.
*****
I started to think about the idea of monsters underneath our bed. Through my life I have witnessed, sympathized, empathized, and battled with insecurities, fears, depression, and loneliness. With these extreme feelings, we tend to push back how we really feel and hide the “monsters.” Sometimes, the creatures will come out of the darkness, wanting to play on our weaknesses.
“You are not good enough.”
“You are ugly. Unwanted. Fat”
“Who could ever love you?”
Why do we, like children, imagine these scary creatures? Why do we sometimes let the monsters win?
I was recently invited to a party and, instantly, insecurities flooded my mind with doubts. Who will be there? Will I fit in? What should I wear? There was an internal battle of whether I should or should not go. There was a part of me that knew if I went, I might have fun, that I might meet new people, that this might be good for me. Of course, in contrast, the monsters wanted to make sure they had their say. Are you sure you want to do this? There is a possibility of rejection. You probably won’t meet anyone new anyway, and who’s to say they will like you.
My sister has a technique that she calls her “thought ninja.” Whenever she is bombarded with negativity, her thought ninja comes out armed with an arsenal of optimism and positive affirmations, sending the offending trolls back to their dark hiding places.
When life gets tough and your monsters come out to wage battle, remember to get out your handy dandy nurf gun, your samurai sword, your bazooka, or weapon of preference and send them right back where they belong! Fears, insecurities, and doubts will always exist, but it sometimes feels really great when you can kick their butt for a change.