Shel Silverstein has a wonderfully challenging poem in his collection, Light in the Attic, entitled “The Magic Carpet.”

You have a magic carpet that will whiz you through the air…
………if you just tell it where.
So will you let it take you where you’ve never been before?
Or will you buy some drapes to match and use it on the floor.

Sam Gladding, a Licensed Professional Counselor, mentioned this poem in a recent webinar he gave entitled, “Creative Counseling When You Don’t Have Time to be Creative.”  It is a reminder of our tendency, both as therapists and as individuals, to get into a predictable pattern, even a rut, when it comes to approaching a problem or issue. Whether it is frustration with a job, stress over finances, concerns for a family member, goals not realized…the list goes on…. We have a tendency to drive along those rutted out grooves.  It is the path most traveled and the path most worn. It is the path that doesn’t look for other options, doesn’t risk venturing off in an unexplored direction. It is the safe path that we follow over and over even when the results are not what we had hoped for in the end. It is as if we are programmed for inadequate results and disappointing outcomes.

I am reminded of the Road Runner cartoon I watched as a child.  Repeatedly the coyote would set up road blocks, dynamite, and various death traps in order to catch the Road Runner.  Every time the dynamite exploded in the coyote’s face, the boulder smashed him into the ground, or he fell off the cliff. He never gave up. He never tried a different approach.  Determination?  Maybe.  Resistance to change?  Yes.  Lack of creativity?  Definitely.

Take a moment to be quiet. Have paper and a pen at hand. Think of a current situation in your life which repeatedly causes anxiety to rise within you. Or think of a circumstance in which you experience stress or anger. It is more than likely a situation in which you feel a lack of control or powerlessness.  Now bring to mind the ways you have been dealing with the circumstance. Write them down. As you read the approaches notice if they are similar?  Have the results of your attempts been satisfactory?

Now picture yourself on the magic carpet that lifts you up off of the rutted road to where you can look down and observe the situation that causes you turmoil. As you look upon it as a distant observer, allow yourself to see new angles and possibilities for action. Stretch your mind beyond its barriers to see unique approaches and paths that you have not followed. Write down these new ideas and possibilities. Now picture yourself acting on one approach at a time. Be aware of how easy it is to fall back into the safe, well-worn ruts? Also, how natural it can be to send yourself defeating messages that stop your creativity?

Ask yourself, “Where will I let my magic carpet take me?”