Courage, Confidence and Karma have expanded their horizons.

Yesterday, Kevin finished the new fence in the back part of our yard. This is a rather scruffy expanse of weeds with a lean-to of old lumber that sits behind our back cabin.

I realize that sounds like we have this big ranch with cabins and fenced chicken corrals. We do seem to have an inordinate amount of outbuildings considering this is just an average-sized lot. However, this new chicken ranch is actually quite small. We moved their little portable coop to form part of the fence, flung open the door and left them to figure out that a huge new world had opened up to them.

We came back later to see two of them were out, though close to the pen, and the other one was still inside, looking longingly at her sisters. Kevin threw some scratch to tempt her out the door and she just pecked at the chicken wire instead of moving to the left and through the door.

It got me thinking about how we box ourselves in with our beliefs, whether big and small. Our perceptions of what is available to us creates the truth.

If we believe our world is small. It’s true.

If we believe our world is large. It’s true.

If I believe I’m ‘stuck’ with my writing, I am SO stuck and when I tell myself to lighten up and not take it all so seriously, guess what? I’m not stuck.

I wish it were different. It would be so much easier to blame someone. Isn’t there someone I could sue?

I just stepped out to collect the eggs and there is a tiny little sparrow-type bird that is frantically flying from corner to corner in the coop…trapped by her inability to go back out the door that she originally flew through. I left her to figure it out.

But the girls? Those happy chickens are out in the middle of their new world…doing the funky free range chicken dance.

Now if I could just convince the woodpecker (that is right-this-second rat-a-tat-tatting above my little office window)  to try a different focus, maybe we could all get on track.