Permission granted

"...Something we were withholding made us weak.

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living..."

from Robert Frost's The Gift Outright.

There was another poem Robert Frost composed for delivery at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy on 20 January 1961. The poem went undelivered, however, because the sun's glare upon the snow-covered ground blinded Frost from seeing his text. He put the manuscript aside and instead recited the poem "The Gift Outright" from memory.

I have always loved the above lines. Have you ever considered that withholding yourself makes you weak?  Of course, sometimes it is appropriate to withhold, but I like the implication in Frost's words that giving of ourselves makes us stronger.

 As I quickly review some of the times of my life, I know there were times when I withheld a lot.  I also know that often it was the only safe choice open to me.  It will be an interesting exercise to consider the times when my withholding turned out to be counterproductive and ultimately made me weak.  How do you interpret and apply Frost's words? Know that many of us deny ourselves permission to be all that we could be - and that surely makes us weak, or weaker than we would be if all of ourself was available to us.  Think of all that we and the world miss out on because of how much we all suppress in terms of our abilities, intelligence and talents!  Wouldn't it be thrilling to remove the "Permission Denied" sign within and put up a sign for ourselves that proclaims "Permission Granted".  Bloom.  Flower.  Explore. Be all that you are.