Trick or Treat

 

T Rex on the corner

 

 

 

I pass this life-size dinosaur every day and yet it has been years since I have given it any thought.  Until the other day when I passed Tyrannosaurus Rex all dressed up for Halloween and as so, is always dressed head to toe for every worthy occasion.  However, it is on this occasion that I took notice of three things:

1.               1.  There is a life-size 20 foot tall T-Rex on the corner of a major intersection

2.               2.  He is holding a small sign that reads “Boo”

3.               3.  He is holding a large plastic orange pumpkin bucket

T Rex represents all those false thoughts that and those negative beliefs that we work so hard to let go of.  If we do not make a deliberate effort to conquer the ugly chatter in our head (slay the dragon, so to speak), those thoughts and beliefs are as real as T Rex, teeth bared, poised for destruction.  We may not be prepared for a fight or flight situation, instead we run and hide leaving those thoughts and beliefs stronger than before.  Say we manage to be strong enough to overcome the ugly chatter and have slipped by the large carnivorous dinosaur on the corner.  Does T Rex give up that easily?

T Rex is also holding a small sign that reads “Boo” … This sign is our small quiet voice that questions our decisions, pushes us to ignore our intuition, and go along even though we don’t agree.

Last but not least is the large orange pumpkin; T Rex is clearly expecting something.  Remember back to our trick or treating days.  Why did we carry the biggest plastic pumpkin we could find?  We were hoping for lots of candy!  Do not forget, the tradition is trick OR treat, historically it wasn’t guaranteed you would get a treat, tricks were included and feared.

Here is T Rex, with his sign and pumpkin bucket expecting you to fill it.  Fill with what?  Tricks, big scary ones, destruction and despair are his favorite snacks. 

The tricks are those vague thoughts about lack, failure and disappointment casually tossed into the bucket.   To turn those tricks into treats, we must challenge ourselves, “Is this true?”, and “If it’s true, how often?  Every time?  Once in a while?” and “How did I overcome this situation the last time it happened” We have to remember how truly amazing and strong we are or we’re the only ones getting tricked.

So when we hear the question “Trick or Treat”, remember it’s our choice.