Ep. 3: The Stone Child -- A Folktale on Freeing The Captive Self at Midlife

Have you ever felt like you’ve outgrown your life, yet you can’t seem to create the version you really want?The desire is thereThe longingThe hunger.But whenever you try to reach for what you want, something inevitably gets in the way.You find yourself weighed down by old beliefs, old patterns, and old stories.The truth is, the very things keeping you stuck may once have saved your life.We all carry survival strategies that made perfect sense once upon a time. The problem is that these same strategies can outlive their usefulness and become the things that keep us captive.Midlife may be the first time we feel safe enough to recognize the strategies that helped us survive are no longer helping us live.In this week’s episode, I share an Inuit folktale called The Stone Child. It’s a story about grief, survival, and discovering the gift hidden in the wound.It may just change the way you think about the parts of yourself you’ve been trying so hard to fix.This story is part of a series. You can find the rest here:Episode 1: Vasilisa The Beautiful and The Impossible Task of MidlifeEpisode 2: The Magic Orange Tree--A Folktale on Feeding the Forbidden Hunger of Midlife This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marjorieflorestal1.substack.com