Your Soul Needs Margin, Too (Soul Stuff 3)

Back in 2014, a child-therapist my family visited for a season described stress in a revealing way. Kristen, the counselor, likened our souls to balloons…

“You can blow a balloon up,” she said, moving her hands larger and farther part as if an expanding party-type of balloon rested between them. “At first the balloon is fine with the air you blow in…”

“At some point, the balloon reaches max capacity,” she continued. "Then we have four options.” She described the first three scenarios, explaining—

🎈 You continue adding air to the balloon, thereby causing it to explode.

This happens to some people.

They— seemingly overnight— explode. They “flip their lid.” They lose it.

But, the outburst you see isn’t the result of the final air pushed inside the balloon. The added tension is merely the “final straw” to break the camel’s back.

🎈 You squeak and squeal the balloon, shrilling a sound that lets you know something is not right.

I’m sure you’ve met people like this— people who seek to dominate tough situations by complaining, acting caustic, or exerting control over others.

They’re often battling an unseen enemy— or enemies— you know nothing about. Many times they still stand face-to-face with the enemies of their past.

🎈 You “let go” and watch the problem fly away (read: hide). People like this are the proverbial “take my toys and go home” pouters.

Unskilled in conflict resolution, they simply leave.

Or, at other times, they take flight— as in the “fight or flight” response commonly associated with PTSD.

The solution…?

Margin.

Have a gap between what you “have available” and “what’s required.”

In other words, let some air out of the balloon…

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Important links

💜 The “best of” Soul Wholeness audio course = FREE at www.Jenkins.tv/best 

💜 The free PTSD self-check = www.Jenkins.tv/PTSD 

💜 The Soul Wholeness video course = www.Jenkins.tv/SWV