Jack and the Maiden – Mentoring for Growth – Trust Your Senses
The Modern ‘Mentoring For Growth’ Fairytale
This is the story of Jack and the Maiden. Once upon a time, there lived a fair maiden. She was smart, went to university, became highly qualified, worked hard, was great at sports, often beating male opponents and became highly successful. However, she was often thought of as a high achiever, and she had become a little aloof in the eyes of others.
One day a few years ago, she thought she would advance her horizons by studying and experimenting with spirituality and meditation. It was something she was drawn to do, and she felt it might answer one or two questions about herself. She also thought she would find answers to some religious questions that often dogged her.
So the maiden became absorbed into the world of meditation and spirituality. Or so she thought!
The Dark Cloud of Trusting Your Senses
But…. a dark cloud gathered over her, and she became consumed by an evil force. She became fearful, untrusting and paranoid and felt the experiences were leading her to a period of depression and mental instability. So the maiden “ran” and escaped the dark cloud with wounds that would take years to heal.
A Knight in Shining Armour?
Like all beautiful maidens, she wanted more than anything to be happy and be swept away by a dashing and strong night-in-shining armour on a white horse. She felt her happiness would be fulfilled with a partner in her life. But, alas, this was not to be. The maiden occasionally had coffee or dinner with an online dating partner, but she felt these men weren’t for her. They sounded insincere while she thought she was being entirely truthful to them.
The maiden continued her life, occasionally luring herself into spiritual, psychic and mentoring help here and there. And then a spark! She heard about a coaching program that was affordable and different, and it resonated with something deep inside her.
Even Maidens take Action to Mentor Growth.
She committed to the coaching program; overnight, things began to change. Our maiden was surprised and overwhelmed by the huge step and responsibility she had taken after her previous experience. She found herself on the coach’s doorstep every week, and he seemingly did very little. He rarely tested or challenged her; he gave her simple exercises and admitted to her that she was unlikely to have regular ah-ha change moments. Instead, he suggested that her ah-ha moments would hit her when she least expected it—at work or with friends and family.
The Mentoring Program ‘Trust Your Senses
When she started her mentoring program, our wonderful heroine mentioned to her coach that there was a serf she was interested in. He prompted her to spend time with him, and they went out a few times, playing sports and games together, which she usually won, and enjoyed her time with him. Her only trepidation was that her serf seemed uncommitted to anything more than a casual friendship.
Nudged or Pushed?
One day, to her horror, her coach suggested that she could do something outrageous with the serf. Beautiful maidens like ours didn’t do “outrageous” in these times. It was far too big a challenge, although the “outrageous” the coach suggested was only in the form of a touch or gesture such as holding a hand. This was just NOT done in the maiden’s kingdom.
So the relationship started to wain, and distance grew between the two, which worried the maiden. Nevertheless, she enjoyed being out and about, especially with the serf and others. Time with the serf has made her realise how lonely she had become locked in her castle for all those years. He had given her a key to freedom, and there was no way she would sneak back into that darkness.
More Challenges
Not long after this, the maiden’s coach decided to rechallenge her. He suggested she try internet dating again. Shock, horror again, “What’s he doing to me?” she thought. But as a dutiful student, she obliged and gave it a go.
The Honest Jack of Jack and the Maiden Appears
Then, after a week, she received a special message from an electronic pigeon from Jack. Now Jack was a little different from the other serfs in the kingdom; he spent time away planting seeds and growing the nation’s wealth. Jack decided to pursue our beautiful maiden. First, he sent her particular messages cast on a stone hand-carved rock; then, he called up to her from the road below. Jack made the maiden feel very special. He talked to her and allowed our maiden to tell him how she felt. Our girl had made it clear that she wanted to take things slowly.
A Surprise
Something happened to the maiden. She went out with Jack only twice before he had to leave to plant beans in a far-off land. This didn’t stop him from perusing her daily with pigeon and hand-delivered text. It only took a couple of days for our maiden to realise she was falling in love, and what amazed her was how wonderful she felt and how easy it was.
Our maiden surprised herself with her carelessness; she had broken so many kingdom ‘rules’ with Jack. Rules like meeting in the crowded tavern and going to his castle on the back of his horse on the first date. What amazed her was that she broke these rules without a care in the world; she felt empowered as if nothing could happen where she would be harmed. Something deep was at play, she analysed it, and it felt good.
So how does this fairy tale end?
The Story Continues
We don’t know because the story still needs to be written. This wonderful romance could end as quickly as it started, or it could blossom into a loving, life-long relationship with marriage, children and grandchildren. Either way, the maiden has won a battle within herself to trust her senses and take a leap of faith.
What is at work for the maiden is her trust, not in Jack but herself. She has continually amazed herself with her ability to push her fear boundaries and is reaping the benefits daily.
How do you trust your senses? Would you like some help?
The maiden did because she decided a relationship and a wonderful life are more important than the pain of not committing and not trusting herself.
Post Scrip
Jack returns soon from planting his beans, and our maiden sits by her window daily, awaiting his return. Meanwhile, the pigeons and the messengers deliver daily messages of love and empowerment.
The original story.
