“I’m a possibility”

by Jennifer Sneeden

My daughter Emily has spent the past few days wandering around the house saying, “Mommy, I’m a possibility.” I’m not sure that she has any idea what “possibility” means, perhaps she just likes the feel of it as it rolls off her tongue, or maybe she enjoys the challenge of stringing a five-syllable word together. But I do know that every time I hear it, it’s magic to my ears.

Because she is a possibility. She is three years old, and the world around her is filled with limitless potential. She can create the world to be anything she dreams it to be. That’s the world that young children live in. And as her mother, I want her to hold on to that limitless potential for as long as she can. I’m not ready for the world to start revealing limitations and placing restrictions on her.

More than any other program in our area, Seedlings nurtures her possibility. Sunflower nurtures the potential of all the children who attend their programs. These children have the glorious freedom to explore every aspect of themselves and discover all that truly is possible for them.

When I listen to the Seedlings at play, I wonder about the possibilities for each of them. And when my daughter reminds me that she’s a possibility, I wonder about what the future holds for her. Where will her life take her? What obstacles will she have to overcome? What pain will she have to endure? What dreams will she pursue? What will give her life joy and meaning? There is so much about her and her world that I can’t wait to watch unfold.

Of course, as a therapist, this also has a deeper meaning for me. I think of my clients who see themselves as hopelessly mired in some pre-written script for their lives. Their history seems to take hold of their lives in a way that hopelessly constrains the possibilities they see for themselves.

When we are bound by the story of our past, we inevitably repeat and relive it throughout our lives. By liberating ourselves from this story, we create limitless possibility. This is the magic of the work I’m privileged to do with my clients. By helping them understand that the past does not control the future, they can see the door to possibility and change open ahead of them.

Take a moment to list everything you “know” about yourself that holds you back. Think of all the “truths” that you tell yourself, or that others have said about you. As you go through the list, recognize the power each of these statements has over you – the limitations you’ve placed on yourself because of this.

Now close your eyes and imagine for a moment that YOU’RE a Seedling. See yourself as free to write your own future. Feel the limitless potential of what the future could hold for you. Once you see this future, it becomes easier to understand that you have the power to create it for yourself.

Imagine if YOU were a possibility? What glorious things could you do with your life? What could you create for yourself that is greater than you could have possibly imagined? Because if Emily’s a possibility, then each one of us is as well. And yes, that includes YOU!

© Jennifer Sneeden and Sunflower Creative Arts, 2013
Photo © Haidor Truu and Sunflower Creative Arts, 2013

Jennifer Sneeden, PhD(c), LMFT, first connected with Sunflower two years ago, and is so grateful for the experiences she and her children have had through Susan and Sunflower. She’s a psychotherapist in private practice in Boca Raton. She shares her experiences as a mom and a therapist on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JenniferSneedenLMFT.