PLANKING UNDER PRESSURE

PLANKING UNDER PRESSURE

Once upon a time

There was a boy called John

John grew up in a remote town at the edge of the world (in New Zealand)

John was a curious boy

He loved to play pretend

His favourite thing was to dress up with his friends and go on fantastic adventures

The deep jungles of the Congo

The misty mountain tops of the Himalayas 

Riding horses across the Mongolian Steppe 

John loved the stories, the relationships, the worlds he created with people he loved

John recognised that he wanted more of it

He dreamed of standing on stage and performing in the school play

Getting to play pretend with even more friends, costumes and sets

So much joy!

But when he auditioned for the play

Something happened

John had spent all week practicing his lines

And when his teacher asked him to stand on the stage to give his audition piece

John’s little body began to tremble

His throat went tight

His mouth became dry

His small tummy felt like it was turning inside out

John stepped up onto the big stage

He looked down at the sea of his classmates’ eyes 

And he forgot what to do

Everything went silent 

He tried to speak but he couldn’t remember a single line

He struggled to breathe

John hated what he was feeling

He wanted it to end

And when his classmates began to laugh and snicker

He turned and ran to the bathroom to hide

John was devastated 

He loved playing pretend

But when he got the opportunity to do it for the school play

He felt like he couldn’t anymore

John became quiet at school

He stopped joining in at recess with his friends

And when his best friend asked him to join in

He replied 

“Playing is stupid”

And came up with all kinds of excuses as to why he wouldn’t do it anymore

John was clearly hurt and trying to protect himself from feeling hurt again

Then

One day

A stuntman came to his school to put on a show

All the kids gathered to watch

John deliberately sat at the back of the crowd

Curious, but still in his shell

The stuntman began to perform incredible feats 

Death defying acts

The daredevil tumbled down stairs unscathed

Threw a boomerang and caught it

He even set his hand on fire without getting burned

Extraordinary!

Then

For the stunt mans’ final act

He placed a plank between two of the schools’ buildings

A staggering 3 meters high!

The stunt man took a big breath

The drumroll on the boombox played

And then he walked across the plank

Not once

Not twice

But three times!

John watched in sheer awe 

All the other kids screamed with applause 

“Bravo!” 

Then

The stuntman came down to where the children were standing with glee

And placed the plank on the ground

He asked all the children to walk across it one at a time

John was confused

He looked at the plank

Looked ahead

Took a few small & simple steps

And crossed the plank with ease

John was confused and looked up at the stuntman

The stuntman smiled

He kneeled down to John and said

“The plank is the same

You walked across it with ease

All I did was put it up higher

So it took your breath away

But the plank didn’t change

Your perception of it did”.

He was right

John recognised immediately 

That’s the difference between playing pretend with his friends and being on the stage

There is none!

Only his perceptions 

It’s the same thing he did every day

The same fun and simple play

All the other stuff...

The stage, the lights, the set, the crowd, the eyes, the costumes

That’s all an illusion

A distraction

Bingo!

John recognised it was his responsibility to notice when his imagination was running away with him

And to bring it back to what was within his control:

Having a playful and honest conversation with the person standing opposite him

John breathed with ease

He knew what to do next.

At the next recess break

John found his teacher standing in the playground

He walked up to her

Tugged on her dress 

Looked up at her with his curious little glassy eyes

And said

“Miss,

I’d like to try again, please”

Hope this helps

X 

Sheasby 

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CURIOUS

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