Leave the Limits!

This past weekend I went to visit friends and relatives in Oregon. After being out of the country for more than 6 weeks, I was excited to get behind the wheel of my car and go on this long drive. The weather cooperated beautifully and I was able to make the trip in bright, glorious sunshine.

As is my custom, I was drinking iced tea all during the road trip. As a result of my tea consumption, I have certain 'pit stops' that I routinely make along the way. When I reached the first of my stops, lets just say that I was 'eager' to get to the restroom! I hurried into the fast food restaurant and made a bee line for the bathroom.

To my dismay, when I arrived at the ladies room, there were two women standing in line waiting to use it. Uh-oh! This was unwelcome news to my bladder.

A few seconds later, an employee came out of the women's bathroom. "Sorry, we just ran out of toilet paper in there. I'll be right back." Double uh-oh!

I wondered if there was anyone using the men's room. I smiled at the first woman in line, pointed at the men's room door and asked her, "Is there anyone in there?"

She looked shocked, a little disgusted and she said, "I have no idea."

"So you won't use it?" I asked.

"NO!" she gasped.

I repeated my query to the second woman.

She nervously shook her head, "No."

"Well, I will!" I cheerfully declared. I pushed the door open, and in I went.

These bathrooms were single occupancy rooms, by the way.

I used the toilet, washed my hands and left the men's room. Those two women were still standing there, waiting for the employee to come back with the toilet paper!!

Neither of the waiting women went into the men's room when I came out.

I purchased another iced tea (of course) and left the restaurant.

The other two women were still waiting when I left.

I was intrigued by the 'conditioning' and the 'belief system' that said it wasn't OK for them to use a toilet because of the word "Men" on the door. It simply wasn't a possibility for them.

Having just returned from the middle east where in some homes you can't flush toilet paper down the toilet, and having traveled in areas of the world where you use a hole in the ground as a toilet, it just didn't occur to me that there would be anything wrong with using the "Men's" room in a public restaurant. The men's room only accommodated one user at a time, and the door locked. Why on earth would it be a problem for the single user to be a woman?

If the two bathrooms in this restaurant had not had "Women" or "Men" on the door, these women would have probably been finished by the time I had even arrived!

It was a good reminder to me, that we need to constantly examine our beliefs and the self imposed 'rules' that we live by. Two women stood there in various states of need, while the answer to their need was fully available to them. Their belief system told them it wasn't possible. Mine said, "GO FOR IT!"

Got any outdated rules running your life? Are there any beliefs that you hold that remain unexamined and potentially limiting? Take a look, see what you find and make any changes necessary to liberate yourself!

Explore the possibilities!