DARE TO BREAK OUT

One of the constants of life is growth. This phenomenon is usually positive and doesn’t just occur in a vacuum but in an environment. One evident thing about growth is expansion and this expansion takes place within an environment. If that is the case, what happens when growth exceeds the parameters of the environment in which it is taking place?

Let me digress a little and take you on a brisk sojourn to an experience that brought us into this world. i.e Pregnancy.

In the 1st  month of pregnancy, a water-tight sac called the amniotic sac develops around the fertilized egg. This helps to cushion the growing embryo, by kind courtesy of the amniotic fluid. A primitive face then begins to take form with dark circles for eyes. This is followed by the development of the mouth, lower jaw, and throat.

In the 2nd  month, the neural tube consisting of the brain, spinal cord and the neural tissue of the nervous system forms. Followed by the formation of the digestive tract and sensory organs. After the 8th week, the baby is called a fetus instead of an embryo.

The baby’s arms, hands, fingers and other body parts begin to form in the 3rd month. By the end of the 3rd month, the baby is fully formed. All the organs and extremities are present and will continue to mature in order to become functional.

By the 4th month, the fingers and toes are well-defined. Eyelids, eyebrows, nails, and hair are formed. Teeth and bones become denser. The baby can even suck his or her thumb, yawn, stretch, and make faces.

The baby begins to move in the 5th month since he or she is developing muscles and exercising them. The eyelids begin to part and the eyes open in the 6th month and the baby responds to sounds by moving. The baby continues to grow in the 7th, 8th, and finally comes out in the 9th month.In the 9th month, the baby moves less due to tight space. It’s position changes to prepare itself for labor and delivery.

Most of us went through all these stages of growth before finally making it to this world. Interestingly, our growth continues unabated beyond the womb till we die.

Growth is synonymous with progress and I’ve come to realize that anywhere growth is progressive, limits and boundaries are broken. Sadly, most of us just experience this kind of growth in our bodies and not in other spheres of life. The growth of a fetus from the 1st to the 9th month is enough proof that right from inception, we were made to grow to break boundaries.

In the 9th month of pregnancy after the baby has gone through all the necessary growth, it moves less because the amniotic sac impedes its movement. We usually think when pregnancy reaches the 9th month, the womb gives the baby out. Interestingly that is not the case. When the innocent baby realizes that he/she can’t move anymore, it changes position for labor and delivery.

This is where most of us falter. We enter a stage in life, undergo growth then we get stuck there. We fail to recognize that we’ve outgrown our surrounding. We fail to apply what we once did in our mother’s womb by changing position to break out. The baby changes position and breaks out because he/she realizes that it has outgrown its present environment. If it stays in there for too long, he/she would be suffocated by the amniotic sac and die. Most of us are suffocating in our current conditions but we don’t want to break out just like we once did in our mother’s womb.

Fear or uncertainty about the next dimension of life sometimes hinders some of us from breaking out. When a baby makes the decision to break out into this unpredictive world, it doesn’t concern itself about what might go wrong or  right. The only thing he/she cares about is that it has outgrown its environment and has to break out into this world to be free and enjoy the limitless opportunities it presents. That is the approach we need to take.

The baby doesn’t seek approval from the mother before it breaks out. Neither does it seek permission from the sac holding it to open itself for it to come out. The baby comes out unapologetically. Most of us are stuck where we are because we want public approval before we break out of our situation and this is suffocating us. Truth be told, nobody is in a good position to judge our situation than ourselves. Our destiny lies in our hands and not in the mouth of public opinion.

Let’s do what we once did in our mother’s womb and change position and break out of a condition when it is impeding our growth. Even though breaking out can be risky, the world of the unknown presents us with limitless opportunities unlike our suffocating environment that can kill us.

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