.

Replacing the Battery

Habitually Nessa has relied on another person to do most of the handyman chores in her dwellings. She had been raised with criticism and ridicule when she attempted to do these kinds of tasks. Usually there is someone fairly close at hand who can offer assistance.

Recently N was watching television about 7 pm when she heard a funny noise. Was a bird in the house?  Uh oh. No, our star found the “chirp” familiar and was pretty sure what it meant. Sure enough a fire alarm device on her ceiling upstairs was speaking to her—that noise meant it needed a battery replacement.

Normally, this dear woman would not deal with this situation directly. Her mode usually is to find someone else to do such a fix.

Immediately Nessa telephoned her landlord. What assistance could he offer? First he agreed that that emanating sound likely indicated the battery probably needed changing. No, he could not offer to do that task right now but he would do it the next morning.

N asked herself if she could bear the chirping over night. Well it was not her first choice.

“Hey,” N said to herself, “Could I change this battery myself? What a concept! Maybe I can.” Sounds simple but our protagonist has rarely thought she could.

Investigating

First step, she pulled out her step stool to determine if she could get high enough to reach the device. After placing a book on the step stool for more height she could reach the thing by stretching overhead. Ok, Nessa could not see it well but some was visible. Could she do this?

In the past, our heroine got quite frightened when facing tasks like this. The shame feelings rushed in, she could not think well and was sure she would fail.

This time she willed herself to remain calm. “Gee,” she wondered, “Let’s see how far I can get taking this on. Other people do this; maybe I can.”

Next she went out to purchase the battery. Staying positive, she easily shopped for the power source and returned. “Let’s see if I can do this.”

The Pursuit

Battery handy, up she climbed on the stool with book to reach the alarm. She got the battery door open. Good step. Then she kept reaching up, jiggling, playing to get the battery to come out.

Inside her she encouraged, “Keep trying, This can be easy.”

She thought, “Maybe when the battery is out the annoying noise will stop. Then I can wait for the landlord to deal with the rest.” But, no, with the battery out the alarm kept sounding. Sigh. She took a rest.

Returning, again Nessa climbed up with battery in hand and fit it in the slot. First try, no, not going in easily. She flipped over the battery. “Well I wonder if I can get this thing to be happy? Hmm.

Let’s see. I do have more attempts in me. “

When the battery was in, then its door did not close the first time. “Oh,” she soothed in her head. “it must be easy to get this thing to slide into place.”

The Resolution

Several more subtle movements and then, Voila, the door did close!. Another chirp. Was that a bad sign?

But in the next ten minutes there were no more alarm sounds. YAY she had done it!

This was such a big deal for her! She had overcome past hurts and with self-support accomplished something new.

For many readers, this particular task may not be a big deal. Envision someone handicapped venturing into uncharted territory.  The take away is that we can practice new thinking and swim in new seas! We can get back on that pony to trot and canter!

Do you have similar accounts to show resilience, courage, and personal power? Please share them by commenting. Let’s cheer one another on.

About the Author

Janet Pearlman is a spiritual teacher, counselor, healer and artist. She has a gift for inspiring others to know themselves compassionately and to develop skills of empowerment. In her forty-three-year journey of self-discovery, she has deeply studied the teachings of Abraham-Hicks, Ernest Holmes and more. Janet offers individual sessions by phone and in person. Please contact her at jpearl@streamofyes.com to arrange an appointment.