Few things have compared to the astonished delight I felt when I opened the front door to an unexpected ring. A man stood on my front porch clutching a a Happy 40th Birthday Mylar balloon in the midst of several colorful plain ones. After he determined I was indeed Sharon Lippincott, he confidently stepped into the living room and began singing the Happy Birthday song. Then he handed me the bouquet, bowed, and left. What a sweet surprise! Though the attached card had two names, I knew my sister-in-law had outdone herself, and my gratitude lives on.The standard balloons were dead within a day or two, but that Mylar one seemed destined to live forever. At first I felt a warm glow every time I saw it. But sentimentality didn’t last much longer than the standard balloons. Soon the glamor of that birthday faded. I’d had such hopes that turning forty would magically bring new levels of respect and success, and it didn’t take long to realize that nothing had changed, nor would it, at least not by the simple passing of days. I plunged into an abyss of despair.
I’d allowed that Mylar balloon free range, and it drifted silently, following air currents from room to room. Soon it took on the aspect of a spirit, suddenly appearing in the corner of my eye. This was disconcerting, and the balloon became the focus of my angst.
About three weeks after my birthday, I had come to hate that balloon and all it stood for. Then I made a sudden decision. I took the filmy plastic out the door through which it had arrived. I stepped into the middle of the yard, whispered a simple apology to the environment, and … turned it loose! I stood for two or three minutes watching it rise into the warm spring sunshine until it grew too small to see. When I turned to go back into the house, I realized that all my disappointments and darkness had soared away with it. I felt free and happy again.
I’ve never been tempted to buy other balloons to recreate that sense of release. Aside from the litter effect, buying my own would lack the magic of that symbolic surprise. But I have done something else just as effective: I’ve written out all my frustrations and anger and sent them up in flames. Sometimes simply journaling helps. Or writing a story about it.
Try it. You’ll like it!
Write now: dredge up some stressful thoughts. Unless you just happen to have a magic balloon floating around, write about those thoughts, using scrap paper. When you have it all out, shred the paper, or tear it to bits. Put it in the fireplace or somewhere safe and burn it. Feel your stress go up in flames along with your words.
8 comments :
Sharon, I love the idea of releasing a balloon (in theory anyway since releasing balloons, as you noted, is not very good for the environment). And I have also set my fears, problems, and limitations on paper and burned them. (So satisfying!)
The burning/releasing ceremony works particularly well after journaling a while just to get a handle on what it is I was afraid of, or in what way I was limiting myself.
Thanks for the reminder. Maybe it's time for another release of limitations ceremony ...
Those mylar balloons last forever, don't they! I know what you mean though - a month later, those balloons just don't have the same feeling. I usually keep them as a reminder of the giver's love. But if a small child is around, I send it home with them. Or, if my son is around, he's likely to tie it loosely to an unsuspecting dog's tail.
Amber,
Sounds like we both missed the New Year's Eve or Day burning bowl window, but there's no reason to limit the rite to then. Maybe today ...
Ah, I feel an essay coming one.
Karen,
Deflating and keeping -- a nifty idea. I kept a frog balloon a friend gave me to celebrate the birth of a granddaughter whose nursery was decorated in frog motif. I think I later took the balloon to the babe, but without helium, it wasn't a big deal and I don't actually recall.
What fun it would be to tie it to the dog's tail, but that poor doggie would surely be as disconcerted as I was by the drifting phantom.
Our dog is pro-active now. She grabs the ribbon, pulls it down and pounces on it until it is popped!
Karen, that's a howler! Your dog is one smart cookie. I love it!
A symbolic release can be done in thought - picture a hot Hir balloon and the basket tethered to the ground. Load it with any and all burdens then mentally chop each of the tethers and watch it float skyward disappearing into the distance and even perform the chopping motion with your hands if that makes it seem more personally involved. No harm to the environment other than clearing one's own!
That's "hot air balloon as I now re-read what I posted. But you likely knew that......
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