by Joel L, Western Australia
Dear Diary,
Today I turned six and was given a balloon. That balloon has the most beautiful of colours and it seemed that no matter how much I blew, it could keep expanding and expanding. The shape and colour expanded with it. It feels magical and I feel so confident when I hold it near me.
Dear Diary,
I took my balloon out yesterday to show everyone how beautiful it was. Some people smiled but some people were mean, I could feel they wanted to pop my balloon – it didn’t feel safe to keep my balloon out there. When I got home, I decided I had better put the balloon in a box to keep it safe. It was hard to do because I love it so much, but I think it is the best for everyone.
Dear Diary,
It’s been a few weeks since putting that balloon away; I feel a bit less special now and not as confident, but people around seem less agitated. I am not sure what to do, so I copy what everyone else is doing… it’s kind of fun; not the fun I had with my balloon but everyone else seems to enjoy it.
Dear Diary,
It has been a few years now since I last wrote to you… School is tough, teachers want so much from me and the playground can be a vicious place. I’m glad I don’t have my balloon here, it would have been crushed. I find sport is the best way for me to get through each week. It’s good to feel my body working even though the tackles can be hard.
Dear Diary,
Wow, what a weakling I was, looking back at all those entries. Why would anyone care so much for a balloon? Sport is fantastic, I am not the fastest but I get onto all the teams, school still sucks but at least I have friends to play sport with.
Dear Diary,
How can anyone choose what they want to be when they grow up?… it’s too hard to decide. School is hard, sport is okay. I started to teach myself guitar and writing some songs to help make sense of it all.
Dear Diary,
So this is it hey, I have to work, pay rent, kids are on their way. Better make sure I am a good father, husband and all that. Don’t have time to think much about what I want to do, just better do what I need to do to make this all work.
I don’t have much energy unless I push really hard, but I guess this is life.
Dear Diary,
I met a guy who reminded me of my balloon. He still had one. Initially I was a bit dismissive of him, actually a bit jealous… but it did make me wonder.
Dear Diary,
You know what, I went looking for my balloon the other day. I was sure I would have thrown it away by now. It was hard work, I spent a long time looking through loads of papers, trophies and other keepsakes. I had to stop myself from getting distracted as I rummaged through all this stuff. Some of the old songs I wrote are hilarious, such teenage angst… at the same time I could still feel what was behind that angst…
It all feels a bit too hard to go through all that old stuff right now, I might try to find it later.
Dear Diary,
Sorry for the long break between entries but I went back through my stuff a few times; I learnt lots about what was important to me and what I was still holding on to.
Guess what, it turns out my balloon was harder to lose than I thought. I was a bit nervous when I came across the box, what if it was all torn or deteriorated. I opened the box and felt sad; not because it was destroyed, but because it was still there – perfect and just as I had remembered it.
Dear Diary,
I had been keeping my box with the balloon in it to myself for a while now, my wife wanted to see it and so did the kids, but it didn’t feel right to share it – what if they laugh?
After some coaxing, I opened the box and showed them… they didn’t blink – of course that’s you, they said. And as I shared mine, they went and got theirs… turns out my kids hadn’t packed theirs away too far.
Dear Diary,
Something dawned on me today: for the past few years, I have got a huge sense of comfort from re-connecting with my balloon, but I never blew it up!
Just having it there made me feel comfortable, that was enough for me, but not any more. The real joy, the real beauty, is not from knowing where it is but from having it blown up and on display… but it’s so old, surely it will burst.
Dear Diary,
I’ve been filling the balloon with my own breath for the past few months, little bit by little bit I blow it up. It feels great to see its colours again. At times I get nervous it will burst so I let a bit of air out, but it never does, so slowly and slowly I keep filling… with a smile on my face for each additional breath I breathe into it.
When we try to keep safe our treasures we lose them, as they are not only for us but for everyone
Joel I love the analogy of this blog and how we visit our own balloon from time to time and let it out, less then more. It is only when we meet someone that reflects that we all still have this balloon can we reflect to others too. Some people respond and some will react to this reflection and it is the way it is.
The sad part is when people who react can be so mean towards another who is willing to go there and want to reveal themselves. It is an adjustment we all have to make which ever way we go. I know the way I have chosen will remain to the day I take my last breath and to many other lives to come…The question is, what are you going to do with your balloon?
Our balloon / essence isn’t designed to be deflated but full and available for all to see.
Leigh I totally agree, it is when we allow for it to be deflated do we react to others, it is that simple.
This is no diary of a whimpy kid. This is the diary of someone who is reclaiming what they once had and now ready to show the world no matter what. And hence a so called story with a true purpose of inspiration.
I too recognize how I know I have a balloon and I know I take it out and blow it up but I also know there are times when I let out some of its air or times when I hide it from others. Why is it that we cannot just let it be for all to see, and not worry about how another might react or perhaps might not like it?
Joel, this is a gorgeously written blog and one that brings me to tears in recognizing how we all have done what you have described here in hiding a very precious part of ourselves from the world because of how others might react.
It is lovely to read that we can return to our essence, to who we truly are, when we so choose.
I love your story telling Joel, I enjoy reading what you share, and look forward to the truth of your message equally.
As we huff and puff our way through life would it not be better as you have so simply shared from the later parts of your, blog to be in constant expansion, with a focus on how we breathe, so we feel the “magical ‘joy of a continuous ‘expansion’ as I am now seeing in some students children! So with the loving support of our families anything is possible.
I love the analogy of coming back to ourselves and filling our balloons breath by breath as our connection grows stronger and we can then choose to share that with others and reflect our true colours.
We might think we are the only one with a secret balloon hidden somewhere but we all have hidden it somewhere thinking ‘it would be best for everyone’ but who is that ‘everyone’ I wonder.
“It’s been a few weeks since putting that balloon away; I feel a bit less special now and not as confident, but people around seem less agitated. I am not sure what to do, so I copy what everyone else is doing… it’s kind of fun; not the fun I had with my balloon but everyone else seems to enjoy it.” Doesn’t this sum up human life currently and the compromises we make because of the discomfort being in the brilliance of our essence brings up for others? It is though amazing to have the opportunity to restore the balloon, and learn to observe the discomfort of others and let it be.
I noted that too Elizabeth in the part of the story about searching for the ballon, as it was covered up with all of life’s achievements and behaviours, but still there underneath it all shiny and colourful waiting to be enjoyed again.
Joel, thanks for sharing such a beautiful story. I could see myself in every little piece you wrote. It’s interesting looking at how we ended up putting our natural joy and playfullness away simply because didn’t fit in our environment…and how hard we have tried to get through life distracting and convinving ourselves that it was ok. Love the moment when you meet someone who didn’t give up, who just kept his balloon with himself and reminded you that perhaps it was worth to come back to that box…a decission that made a significant change in your life.
Inma, so true, Joel has written this in a brilliant way – a way that allows each and everyone of us to relate to it no matter where we have come from.
I loved reading your blog Joel, it is brilliant. I could read a whole book of your writing. It is so relatable, honest and masterfully expressed.
We learn to adapt and compromise so much to fit in rather than risk letting our balloon be seen.
It is a sad fact, we give up on who we truly are.
We do not leave treasures behind. At most, we momentarily suspend our relationship with them.
“not because it was destroyed, but because it was still there – perfect” Our essence is always perfect, always on and always available, beautiful.
The best parent in the world is one that supports us to keep our balloon up and not hide it away. And they do this through how they live, living with their balloon too showing the way for us all to live a life of joy and playfullness.
Yes Joshua we can play life like we have no balloon or that we have an amazing one that is full of love, joy, harmony and truth.
It can be a real challenge when we are little to share all the wonder of our being with another, our purity, joy, love, and our exquisite wisdom and truth and to have that disapproved of, to see others in reaction to us, and even experience jealousy from others. It’s huge really for little innocent bodies to understand so no wonder so many of us put away the wonder and magic of our soul.
It certainly is Melinda and our world currently doesn’t support us to shine and share all of who we are. But if we hold back living who we are, ultimately this could hurt us more than the attacks we may receive due to jealousy.
The path of survival is the eternal finding reasons that justify a pattern of movement that although we make it ours, we do not truly belong into it. The path of return is the rediscovery of a treasure that we left behind that allows us to feel and then accept that we are a treasure ourselves.
Yes the treasure is us and we expend so much energy fighting this fact – no wonder there is so much exhaustion in the world.
That’s a very valid point Helen.
This is a great reminder that we have not quite actually let that balloon go, we only just hid it somewhere. It is there somewhere. That is good to remember.
Argh the personas we all create to fit into a balloon-less world where underneath it all all we want back is our own balloons to share with each other.
And the beauty of knowing that the balloon is always there ready for us when we are ready for it.
Love the diary format here, it makes the average progression through life very clear. What is not so common are the last three entries, yet these are the three that every single one of us can choose given the reflection that it is indeed possible.
So true Rosanna, this blog is so inspiring, it shows us no matter how hard we try to hide our balloon (our essence) it is always there waiting for us to share it with the world. By hiding this, it not only hurts us but it affects the people around us too.
The colourful balloon is a great analogy for the joy and light that we learn to hide from an early age to not upset the adults who are triggered by the reflection.
Thank you Joel. Every time I see a balloon I will feel the love of the breath within that expands the whole.
Thank you Joel it brought back a few memories about my balloon and how I stored it .
Joel I loved re-reading your blog, it brought real joy to my heart, reminding me that even though I too have a beautiful balloon, I occasionally forget to show it in its full glory.
So true it is that we can never lose who we are, it is only that we move away from being all that we are. But the beautiful truth is that regardless of how far away we may have moved from being who we are, we are only ever one movement away from returning to breathing the love we innately are within. Clearly our world would be a vastly different place, as would our relationships, if we were fostered to live who we are from the day we were born.
I would read everything this guy writes, he is an absolute master. What a great, great story and so relatable of what goes on in life and how we walk away from things or just pack them away. It’s revealing to see and sense the changes that happened not only in this story but in our lives as we ‘grow’ from being a child to a teenager to a young adult and up. What stands firm through all of this is that no matter where we go or how long it is since we have seen our balloon it is all still there, ever so patiently waiting for us to return. The article is also symbolic in this way, we move, we walk away and it is only when we return that we see the fact of this.
I agree Ray, Joel Levin certainly is our modern day master of parables. It is very inspiring to be reminded of the truth that the effervescence, sparkle and awe that we lived with as children, is who we still are, it actually has never left us. We only need to look within and re-connect to this innate quality that resides within us all, and defines who we really are.
Articles and conversations like these are so so refreshing and open us beyond Monday to Sunday. The world isn’t what we have made it and we don’t need to wait for the world to come to this. From the awareness we are discussing here we are already calling for more and from here now the call has gone further and deeper. It’s not that we must keep going but more this is how it all works, once you have seen to a depth that is a new foundation to be appreciated that then opens to the next part. We are unfolding this back to the known beginning and not on a journey into the unknown.
Such a great story Joel! Reading the progression of what happens to most of us that hide our ourselves along the way. A real reminder that it’s safe to let our light shine bright and no one will combust because of it.
This blog has also reminded me of a gorgeous French film called The Red Balloon I saw as a child. I’ve just searched for it… it’s still out there for anyone who is interested.
Very touching, Joel. A beautiful analogy for the ever-present possibility that we can return to the love and joy we innately and always are.
Just wondering Joel, will there be a book one day of all your gorgeous parables and sharings?
Joel, your blogs are so gorgeous to read, I always look forward to them. I am returning to live from my delicateness so loved what you shared here.
This brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful Joel, you have expressed so much here and I know so many of us can relate.
All of us have this quality of preciousness inside us that is hard to hold onto as nothing in the world or how it is today confirms this, so we forget about it. Most of us then join the world that has forgotten this preciousness..yet deep down, we do all know that the way the world is today is not how it should be, that we are deeply missing something. Amazing that we have the tools to reconnect to what we’ve missed, and that no one else can do this for us: it starts with us, breathing our own breath and walking our own walk.
The most intriguing blog I have read. I enthusiastically read each diary entry to understand more and follow the journey. You know Diary, there is no end, just more and more expression and expansion . . .
The bright shiny balloon is a wonderful image of our preciousness as children and one that we need not pack away and hide.
Gosh the essence of a child and the tenderness of a man is deeply felt in this blog. It makes me aware that everyone is the same no matter what they put out and choose to do. Everyone has a wonderful balloon inside but they have hidden it away and what we are dealing with is the end result of a world without our balloons
Yes, it is very beautiful what Joel captures in this blog, the essence of a child and the tenderness of a man.
I loved reading this blog Joel, my daughter has always spoken about her balloon as a way to express her feelings especially going to school. She will be aware of the size of her balloon and if it shrinks throughout the day. Such beautiful and playful imagery to share that can support us to constantly expand and grow.
I love this story/ modern day parable! Thank you Joel for reminding us all that no matter how much we may have shunned or buried our balloon (essence or soul) it is eternally there waiting for us to re-connect with it…
We may be the only one around who is letting their balloon be seen by others – breathing life into it and expanding it with every loving choice. If this is so then so be it. Once others see it they’ll remember they have one too – some may even be inspired to go and find it and starting blowing it up again.
Every single conscious breath fills that balloon, and re-ignites the fire of love and connection within us all.
What if from young we were helped to understand and expect that some people will want to pop our baloon. To know that it is only because of the pain of having put their own baloon away and that it is not personal. And to be supported to find our own way of dealing with this without being phased. Thank goodness that many parents who have gained this insight are offering their children such fundamental support..
Joel’s parable describes how well we forget the soul and begin joining into life without it, burying our awareness of it with the many layers of life and the behaviours we chose. No wonder people become so unsettled when they are presented with someone connected to their soul because it shakes up the constructed realities we have all made life to be by exposing life and how we are in it as false. Regardless of the reactions, people essentially are being reflected that they too are soul, and may also be inspired to live again from what they too had buried.
Beautifully expressed Joel. Being full of ourselves has had some ‘bad press’ because it is seen as arrogant and self-obsessed/possessed. There is for sure a reinterpretation of self-love that does bring this out in some people – but there is also a truth in loving ourselves and being claimed and honoured that is in my experience so very healthy. In fact is it the only true way to being the love that we are in life and reflecting it back to others.
Spot on Richard. And the infectious nature of expressing this level of love is beautifully shown in the story “as I shared mine, they went and got theirs…” So often in life everyone is just waiting for someone to start the ball rolling and lead the way.
I love your story telling Joel, enjoyable to read with a message so true. A celebration is in order… so we will need a lot more of expanded balloons… thanks heaven we all have one.
We always have it, our innermost and while most of us put it away for fear of being hurt in fact it never goes away and when we do decide to reconnect to and find it, there it is.
What a great blog Joel, what’s beautiful is no matter what our essence is always there, nothing can really crush us, that spark is always there waiting to ignite. Just that allowing is all it needs.
Stunning as always Joel, you are the maestro of metaphors. Thank God for us that you chose to connect back to what has been with you always and as such bless us with its beauty.
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant Joel. By you showing your colourful balloon to the world and consistently expanding it, it reminds us that we too have something similar and equally magnificent to nurture, care and share.
Totally love it Joel… life without one’s balloon is flat and lack lustre, particularly once you establish the fact of your balloon in the first place.
Has this been made into a children’s book yet, Joel? You really have this beautiful gift of making a most profound truth into a very accessible, relatable, light and fun story that touches and echoes into our hearts so deeply. Please, do not ever stop writing.
I totally agree Fumiyo, I too love Joel’s writing for exactly the same reasons. His gift of writing and the way he expresses is a gift to us all.
Most of us ‘keep a lid’ on our true selves, and having the opportunity to take the lid off is such a blessing, and then to share this with others is a boon for all.
Incredible and very symbolistic way of showing that we have this inner balloon , and we can or stay comfortable just by knowing that it is there , unrevealed, or choose to let it out and enjoy its way! So symbolic, but actually a true true support for all to read. Thank you Joel.
What a beautiful bedtime story Joel – sweet dreams are on their way before my head even touches the pillow!
I loved your blog Joel it brought tears to my eyes for this is what i did with my heart long ago, wrapped it up and hid it away. These day I am bringing it out for this is the true me to bring to the world, shining out for others to shine also.
We may think we have to hide our balloons because they may fail us however that is only the perception we use to put them away. The balloons never failed we convinced ourselves otherwise.
I specially love the moment in this blog (and in fact in our lives!) when you showed your true light and others then showed theirs.
Such a grace in this sharing… and to find out that our balloons are out of energy and so: indestructible. The only way to make it apparent disappear is when we put it away, ignore and dismiss it. Se others embracing and living their light (balloon) is inspiring. It is possible to live it on earth and it is our choice to do so.
Our balloons never burst or fly away, but sometimes we pack them away so far that we think that they have. But they are waiting for us to remember them and when we do we will know that they never left us at all.. ever.
It is easy to allow comfort to creep in when we finally realise the beauty of life we could live when our balloons are nearby once more. But the beauty doesn’t stop there, why not keep going and experience the wonder of connection within and with all?
I’m sure this blog sparks inspiration and Love in everyone’s hearts – something we can all relate to. I loved the bit where each family member went to get their balloons as well and it reminded me that we are all in this together. Anyone I think has hurt me or acted in dismissiveness, jealousy or deceit, has also got a balloon – an inner essence of purity, truth and love that they may have said a temporary good bye to long ago and have been trying to protect it ever since. This blog is an outstanding metaphor for life.
This touched me deeply and I love the absolute simplicity in what you have expressed here Joel. This is something everyone can relate to… and I totally agree with jsnelgrove36 this would definitely be a awesome children’s/adult book! Just even remembering to breathe our own breath is powerful in itself… I never once contemplated this growing up but it makes so much sense… if we are doing anything from a belief or ideal, from a need of recognition, to fit in, to not stand out, to be liked, for security etc etc, of course we are breathing something that is the complete opposite of who we are. This is a brilliant blog!
So beautiful to re-read Joel. “The real joy, the real beauty, is not from knowing where it is but from having it blown up and on display…” Yet as we grow up most of us learn to hide our beauty and joy. But it is always there, waiting to be uncovered and to shine once again.
A delightful and powerful story of how as children we close down the joy of who we are and the choice we can all make to reclaim our joy and share it with others to inspire them to allow their joy and love to shine. Definitely a children’s book that will say more to the adult reading it than the child listening.
I loved reading this and can see it easily as a children’s book (or adults!). Thank you Joel.
Oh I love this, I could feel so many of the steps with the balloon. Isn’t it interesting that symbolically we all know exactly the feeling you are describing and how it’s delicateness is synonymous with our delicateness.
Indeed Lucy, it has been lovely to see so many people comment that the story matches their own experiences. It makes it seem crazy to some degree we are all doing similar things (the opposite of what we actually want)
You’ve really enraptured a massive truth here – that life is pre-designed to crush us but no matter how severe that crushing the wonder of who we are never ever ever disappears.
I very much appreciate the way you use analogies to express a message Joel. This blog of the balloon and your diary is another that I can totally relate to.
Your blog is a modern day Cinderella tale where your story has you as the ugly sisters, choosing to impose a life of hiding yourself away from the hurts of others in a self-made prison and then as the fairy godmother, choosing to allow yourself to reclaim your true worth bit by bit; then as prince, hunting for the shoe-balloon from where you can finally shine out and fully reclaim yourself. Happy Ever After.
The best part is that it is not a fairy tale at all but my life and that there was no prince that came to save me, other than the choices I made…which means the longevity of my happily ever after remains firmly in my hands.
It’s beautiful to know that there will be children that perhaps do not need to live in a contracted way to get by. We can all learn to live like this, shining, glorious and without the need to bury ourselves in what we do.
One of the greatest evolutions of all for humanity will be live in a way that nurtures our delicacy and then by the very nature of reflection, our children would then be able to have this beautiful path of return laid out in front of them.
It is a wonderful thing to contemplate, a childhood that honoured our delicateness and our divinity. Sign me up cjames2012.
Yes Joel, and the extraordinary thing is, is that this generation now is upon us, and there are some amongst us who will be raising the children with this awareness, and they shall bring so much more light to the world just by their being.
This blog made my day!
And my evening. I want to read this to someone, many people, as the bedtime story that needs to be shared. Always remember your balloon, puff it up with all of your joy and play with it as if no one is watching, knowing that everyone will be watching and possibly remembering their own balloons as well.
What a lovely bedtime story for children, all children, whatever their age.
What I love about the way you have written this Joel is that it could be read to a 5yr old or someone who is 90yrs old and the understanding and message is the same – Beautiful, thank you Joel
so true ch1956, the lovely thing about story is we each bring ourselves to the character. Not to mention the fact we all share the same fundamental truth deep down
Loved re-reading this Joel, my heart was touched by the truth that we all have this inner beauty, yet we so quickly hide it away. I have still been hiding my balloon, occasionally I have let it out but have quickly taken it away, I thought it was because I was scared of what others might think or how they might react, but truth be told it’s because I have been scared of its magnificence. Crazy but true, your words and those of everyone who has commented have reminded me it is time to stop hiding and let that balloon shine, soar and be seen, because you know what it might just inspire someone else to let their balloon out.
Go the balloons!!!
Oh my God, this is so amazing, thank you Joel for writing this. I am reminded of my balloon, i must say it was not too far away, but just like you Joel I kept it hidden just incase people try to attack it. What I can feel now is that my balloon was never really safe when it was hidden, and I for sure did not feel better from it! So I decided to let out my balloon again, everyone may see it now. I still had times that I did not taken my balloon outside of my home, but I figured this was the exact same effect as putting it in a box. For me it was time to let go of the comfort that kept me driving to keep the balloon in a box. Now this is simply over, my balloon is too big to hide!
Thank you Joel for sharing so beautifully – yes we must care for our balloon and re-inflate it tenderly with our breath but never must we hide it from view.
Lovely reading this again. Not only for the description of the staged journey in our reconnection to our very own balloon, but also for the reminder of the expansion which it brings not only ourselves but those around us.
So true Linda, there is inspiration all around us and most of all among those who are making a conscious choice to connect to the joy that lives and breathes within themselves.
So so true Joel, nothing inspires more than to see so many reclaiming the joy they are.
Thanks Jade, its funny to think that under, hurt, pain, sadness is joy, but it is there waiting…not something to be injected into you or received but rather waiting to be uncovered.
Thank you Joel this is a beautiful reminder that the beauty I am inside is always there, ready for me to return and choose to be that beauty.
What an awesome metaphor Joel. Our essence is always there, it never leaves us?patiently waiting. We always have the choice to reconnect to it…. if we ever leave it.
Thank you Joel – here’s to the beauty and expansion of re-filling our balloons and sharing them with others.
Just a perfect metaphor, mapping beautifully how we hide our true selves away at a young age to take on the ways of the outside world in an attempt to fit in – until we nearly forget ourselves. Meeting others whose balloons are fully inflated and ongoingly expanding, not hidden from public view, is an inspiration to peek back at your own and consider the true possibility that life is far richer, fulfilling and purposeful when lived with your true essence than hidden for safe keeping where it – and therefore we – can get forgotten.
Joel, this is so exquisitely beautiful in its’ simplicity and shows us how we move so quickly away from true joy and pile on the layers to stop us feeling that!
That was certainly a revelation that the joy was always there and only not felt by what I covered it up with.
This blog is so amazing Joel. It shows how our reality often is nothing more than what we make up with our minds. Good to know, that we can always connect back to what is true, felt in our bodies.
it is a great gift to our children when we allow them to see our delicacy and our vulnerability… it allows the possibility for them to understand that this is okay, we don’t have to harden up as we get older, that it is possible to stay feeling and connected, and what a great experience this is.
This is a beautiful analogy Joel with the added bonus of the realisation that when we re-connect back to ourselves as a consequence we naturally re-connect back to others. There is no point leaving our balloon shrunken, deflated and hidden away from sight. By breathing life back into our balloons they expand which cannot but lighten us up. After all, balloons are just like ourselves and are are made to lift and inspire. As a consequence this inspiration allows us to connect to and to energise others to do the same.
I love this insight Suse, that when we reconnect back to ourselves, we naturally reconnect back to others.
This is a beautiful analogy Joel with the added bonus of the realisation that when we re-connect back to ourselves as a consequence we naturally re-connect back to others. There is no point leaving our balloon shrunken, deflated and hidden away from sight. By breathing life back into our balloons they expand which cannot but lighten us up. After all, balloons are just like ourselves and are are made to lift and inspire. As a consequence this inspiration allows us to connect to and to energise others to do the same.
Lets all breath air into those fabulous balloons of ours and release them to all fly free and high together, the only way is up, there is no limit to where they can go.
One fully inflated balloon is very beautiful and, exquisite in itself but, combined with others, it becomes part of a most gloriously joy-full celebration; an amazing sight to behold.
This is so beautiful Joel 🙂 I can read it again and again and it is always beautiful – Amazing how You put it all together – so lovely. Thank You. With love Nadine
I love this blog Joel. There is a childlike sweetness in this whilst being so relatable and powerful in its message. We all have a beautiful balloon to show. Many of us have hidden it away. I am building the trust that I can step out into the world with it, without hiding or disguising it, just letting its beauty naturally be.
This is another great blog Joel, you have described what most of us do in life, we can easily look back to when we were six years of age and realise we are only living such a small percentage of that confidence, love, playfulness and authority we had when were kids. It is great to know that will always be there for us whenever we choose to embrace again.
Joel you leave me amazed at the alchemy you can achieve with your stories. They are always a blessing to read. Thank you.
I love the worlds alchemy and the revelation that comes from simplicity, there is as much blessing in writing them I can assure you.
Your words are so sweet and playful, but you don’t let us get away with just finding and getting re-united with a balloon. That’s only just the beginning – the real fun starts when we start expressing with it.
So true Fumiyo.
The expression that comes from the spaciousness and expansiveness… now that’s what inspires us. 🙂
This part Joel ‘I opened the box and felt sad; not because it was destroyed, but because it was still there – perfect and just as I had remembered it.’ Why is it that we pack our balloons away? And the sadness that we feel when we recognise our own balloon and yet never show it or even blow it up is huge.
But how amazing is it when we do find our balloon and begin to blow it up. Others around us start to feel safe enough to also bring out their balloons to be seen, and to expand also.
It’s NEVER too late to find that beautiful, precious balloon that is just there underneath all the heavy stuff waiting to be breathed forward.
love it kathrynfortuna and the realisation that with each breath what gets created inside is space. The outside is beautiful and precious but on the inside is space, space to breathe, to feel, to be.
S P A C E. To Breathe. To Feel, To be. Isn’t this what we all desire?
yes….to a point and then flip out at how big we actually are..crazy, crazy dance!
Joel, gorgeous to re-read this and feel the joy of rediscovering our balloons, never tucked too far away and always expanding. Balloons that can never be popped. Special balloons!!
A beautiful reminder Joel, that although we may hide who we truly are away, eventually there comes a time when we choose to shine and show the world the truth of who we are.
An absolutely brilliant way to describe the craziness of the way we allow one another to be crushed by society and squashed into little holes. I love the analogy, it fits perfectly to how we lose the beauty and simplicity we live as little children and which can always be there with us if we choose to be willing to stand out.
Joel this blog is exquisite. I was so there with you on the journey from childhood into adulthood and it was incredible to feel what happens to us from the innocence of being a child in delight and wonder, to how we commonly perceive life as adults losing sight of the joy that was innately there from when we were young. The balloon being a great reminder of our joy that is always there should we choose to reconnect with it and let it out.
I love this Joel, thank you. Very pertinent to my life for sure.
This is how we go about our balloon Joel, It is sad when we decide to put it away while it is so dear to us. We put it away because we think it is so vulnerable to the jealousy other people project to us, but actually it is not vulnerable at all, we can fill it with our breath and it wil expand and expand, becoming more of ourselves every time we give breath to it. Beautifully written.
Story time with you Joel brings me to the most powerfully gentle stop. From here I get to feel the depth at which I can connect to the very fact that all along I have had with me my balloon too, and am now feeling a little more confidence to fill it some more, thank you for your extraordinary inspiration to do so.
This is really cool Joel. I blow my balloon up each day and every so often I quickly let lots of air out in case I think someone wants to pop-it. But, I’m starting to realise that these balloons we’re talking about are impervious to explosion and punctures. Hearing about your balloon experiences, helps me understand my own balloon experiences and soon enough I reckon I won’t have to deflate my balloon out of fear that I’ll be rejected or the balloon hurt.
‘Just having it there made me feel comfortable, that was enough for me, but not any more’
Love this line …. so true, when we reconnect and find our balloons, it can be very tempting to stay and enjoy the comfort there, but the real joy comes when we allow our gentle breath to fill our balloon, to share it/us for the world to see.
This is what touched me today also when reading your gorgeous article Joel. Our balloons are not just for us to connect to they are for everyone to see. How joyous it will be to one day be able to walk into a room full of expanding balloons where no one would ever consider popping someone else’s balloon or deflating theirs, simply the absolute appreciation of what each one offers by being in the fullness of their natural expression. How delightful and sweet. More balloons please! There is plenty of space for us all to live this way.
The Diary showing the phases we go through in life is also a reminder that time does not diminish our Glory … it’s always there if we choose to show our bright shiny balloon!
I think you just described my life (and I imagine quite a few others!). Isn’t it gorgeous to be re-connecting to our balloons and blowing them full of us and realising that no matter how much we tuck them away – they remain, waiting for us to return and get blowing! Love this piece of writing, thank you Joel.
I agree Sarah, this is a gorgeous analogy… of the whole world, every single one of us with our special balloon. Joel, your writing is exquisite.
Joel, I’ve returned to your touching blog again after spending the weekend with two beautiful children aged 6 and 8, still holding on to their balloons, precious. I love the tender way you trace your journey from expansive free child to not so free man and describe what was lost or given up on the way. Reassuring to know our balloons are never too far away if we choose to look for them.
oh my goodness Joel, this is such a fantastic piece of writing, I was hanging on to every word. I love how you express. Thank you for sharing Joel. This is very inspiring.
Joel- what a beautiful childhood story- great to be reminded of how beautiful our inner essence is and that it is always there-metaphor for the much loved and precious balloon you described.
Joel, I love this blog so much. It touches me deeply every time I read it. The balloon analogy is simply heavenly. The bit today that really struck me was how great it is to have re-connected with myself but it does not end there. It is about sharing that fullness of me with everyone equally knowing full well that they too can choose to re-connect to who they truly are.
There is such tenderness in this blog, feeling a delicate child lose his way, go through the angst of teenage life and onwards, and then reconnect to his true self. It feels a description of a journey many of us have taken, in such a gorgeous way, thank you Joel.
Joel, you’re analogies are really beautiful and so supportive in helping others to understand different topics. At the end of the story I imagined you not holding one balloon but a big beautiful bunch of balloons !
Indeed, a big bunch of balloons all bobbing and intermingling with everyone else’s balloons!
Thanks Joel another cracker from you which is so relatable.Trusting the balloon will never burst is the next big step for me. It’s such a tragic shame that life pressures us into hiding our balloons. While camping on the weekend with family and friends I observed two young boys that were totally with themselves and were floating their beautiful colourful balloons and it made me wonder at what age they would start to hide them away.
Thank you Joel. I have revisited this blog. I remember reading it a long time ago and appreciated it then. But now I can feel a pure beauty in this blog and balloon that we all have, a little sad for the times we forget about it but as you share too, I know that it is always there and I know that through my living loving way I choose to make the choices to stay in connection with it.
Reading through everyone’s comments is so beautiful!
Joel, through this playful and innocently expressed blog you have allowed everyone to feel one of their greatest hurts in a very gentle and precious way. We have all locked our true selves away out of protection and it is made so clear here that all it takes is a choice and to see someone else still carrying their balloon.
Absolutely Rachel, I agree, I felt that too.
So true Rachel and seeing someone who is still/again carrying their balloon is one of the greatest inspirations we can meet – a truly life-changing one.
Yes Joel’s writing has covered some big hurts but with connection to the innocence and preciousness that we all are, they are put into perspective for what they are, superficial and momentary.
I love Joel’s precious way of expressing about this too Rachael. It so simply explains so much of the childhood hurt we can carry, but also the way we can reconnect to the awesome, bubbly inner us that we might have left at the playground door many years ago. I love Joel’s way of expressing, it is so clear and profound all-in-one.
Joel, I cannot help but smile and feel the Joy of your reconnecting with your gorgeous Balloon – a perfect metaphor for the absolute beauty, truth, stillness and joy we have inside us all.
I love how you got a little distracted going back to find your balloon Joel and that it was hidden from lots of other stuff having been placed on top of it and it took some work to find it. I also loved how you chose to be with people, your wife and kids, who could easily show you their balloons. I think that more and more people are being reminded of their balloons and are blowing them back up one breath at a time.
What a beautiful story. I love how our balloon can never be burst, though fragile it may appear, and how our own breath can inflate it again. Very lovely.
This just goes to show, our balloon is hard to crush than we think. It is us who choose to put it away and thus everyone misses out from the potential inspiration this would be for them.
Totally Joshua, these types of balloons can’t be punctured or exploded – so we may as well just enjoy them all of the time. They can wobble, stretch and obviously always expand, but know well that you can’t ever destroy the balloon, not even with a knitting needle.
We only imagine they can explode and this becomes the seeming reality
Yes Joshua, this is true, ‘It is us who choose to put it away and thus everyone misses out from the potential inspiration this would be for them.’, I can feel some sadness that it is us that hide our balloons away because of the reactions that we receive, it is easy to blame others that we cannot be ourselves, but the truth is it is always our choice.
And with that choice one can feel the true responsibility we have and thus the irresponsibility of making the wise choice we knew we could have been making
This is the key Joshua, we can never lose our true essence and who we really are, but we can certainly have a good go at avoiding it, hiding it away or sometimes burying it! But at the end of the day, it is always there… simply waiting for us to reconnect to it… 🙂
The choice is always there!
True joshua, and if it gets a little “dirt” on it, we have the ability to wipe it off and see that the balloon is still beautiful as ever.
And that no matter how many needles we see others carrying round, it is indestructible.
Joel this blog is exquisite and so beautiful to read the analogy of the stages of your life with and without ‘your balloon’, to finally return to the deep knowing it has never actually gone anywhere and is impossible to be harmed in any way.
Fly it high, filled with your own breath for all to see and appreciate the sensitive and amazing man you are Joel.
“I’ve been filling the balloon with my own breath for the past few months, little bit by little bit I blow it up. It feels great to see its colours again. At times I get nervous it will burst so I let a bit of air out, but it never does, so slowly and slowly I keep filling… with a smile on my face for each additional breath I breathe into it”
Dearest Joel you have encompassed a well trodden human path that brings great sadness. Indeed entries we can all draw from.
The symbolism of the balloon, the breath that fills it, the tension between its delicacy and power is magic.
Forever grateful to this man, Serge Benhayon for returning to your balloon, nurturing and cherishing it with such dedication for us all to be equally inspired.
This is absolute fun and so true. I love how you make the truth of life so simple in an example of a balloon. Actually I find that this example is perfect and actually real. I feel I have a big and beautiful balloon outside of me and I am going to fully let it out now, everyone can see it, this article deeply inspires me. Thank you Joel, forever inspiring blog.
So beautiful and deeply profound Joel. Love what you written Joel- it would make a beautiful children’s book indeed.
Yes I agree. And I too love the way he had written this sharing – so beautiful to read.
Deeply connecting with this blog and the absolute joy through celebrating bringing my balloon back out. I felt a tension in how I let some air out when I am worried it may burst or be popped and there is greater development in this for me and I suspect other readers as well.
Joel, I had tears reading your exquisite blog. It’s so beautiful the way you take us through the years from a young boy full of love and joy then gradually the hardening begins as you start to fit in. They were tears of joy as you re-discovered your balloon, such an expressive blog, so relatable, straight from the heart. Thank you.
Maybe those tears of joy are in part for myself, that I too have re-discovered my balloon. I really love mine too, it allows me to feel so much more complete.
Very relateable for me too- and I am sure every one.
The simple analogy of the ‘ balloon ‘ in itself is gorgeous cause it reminds me of the delight a balloon is to a child, as we get older the balloon remain the same but we cover it with layers like a ‘ piñata pig’ and it the represents for example ‘ party time ‘. Once we take away the covering layers the balloon is still lovely, bright and full!
Joel, you have told the story of everyone growing up. Everyone has done this some before age six; some used study or something else instead of sport. The saddest diary entry is the second, to feel your own love and shut it down because it makes people uncomfortable. Our biggest sin is to deny that we are divine. Our second one is to reinforce a world where people do not feel safe to shine. Showing yourself makes people uncomfortable for a little while; ultimately they want permission to do the same. This is what Serge has done.
Beautifully said, Bernard. This is exactly what Serge Benhayon has done for us and is doing for everyone he meets, holding us all in his love, being himself in all his divine glory. An example for us all of how we can all be too. However much we may wobble, or completely fall off the wagon, he is unwavering in his love for himself and for us.
Lovely comments Bernard, I agree that this is not just my story, but could apply to all of us.
Joel I absolutely love the way you see things. The real beauty really does lie in just being ourselves, showing people who we are, taking away the facades, not being afraid to say what we really feel, not contorting to fit a picture, what more could we really want deep down than to be loved for who we really are? Beautiful blog, will read it many times.
Such a lovely blog about the experience of what we truly are, and how there is always the opportunity to expand and enjoy the way our Balloons are. And they are surely not to be kept in a box!
Absolutely beautiful Joel. I, as I’m sure my others do, can relate so well to way you have so playfully and eloquently described something very common. It takes the judgement out of why we may have hidden ourselves and at times feel like we have lost ourselves. Hugely inspiring – thank you.
SO beautiful and deeply touching and so true.
Deeply truth filled and deeply moving. And yes a wonderful children’s book!!! For all ages.
Tears of joy from your touching diary entries Joel – your writing is straight from heaven. Absolute favorite entry is “Guess what, it turns out my balloon was harder to lose than I thought.” “I opened the box and felt sad; not because it was destroyed, but because it was still there – perfect and just as I had remembered it.” So much explained in so simple a tale. Pure Gold.
I can read this over and over – I have a big balloon – I rush around with it some days and let go of it in the process – too busy to see that it’s floated off into the clouds. Other days I walk quite steadily and hold my balloon out for all to see letting the glow of it shine in everyone’s eyes and I watch them start wondering where they had put their own balloons, where did they leave it or let it go. I walk steadily as they walk off looking for themselves.
Some days ( these are few and far between nowadays fortunately ) I leave my balloon in the cupboard under the stairs – I can’t be bothered to get it out – it feels all too hard.
The thing is when I do this I get to the end of the day or hour and I miss my balloon and then I get to feel how much I miss walking with it so that others get to feel that they have a balloon somewhere too.
I am practicing every day to keep my balloon lovely, colourful and glowing – my dear friend Serge Benhayon has a balloon that inspires me to look after mine more and more each day. We all need to show another how much they can in fact we all can benefit from loving our balloons.
I love your sharing Lee- it is a blog in itself- thank you
Beautifully expressed Lee, an inspiration to read.
Joel, as ever, you do it again. What a great analogy and what beautiful and relatable diary entries. Reading them as such it is easy to see how we come to lose ourselves and what really drives our choices. The harsh reality of self-compromise and fitting in with others.
wow Joel, thank you for another delightful parable I would love to see in a picture book for all ages.
Wow my body lights up with the profound truth and simplicity of this blog. A parable of truth for all.
I love the colour of your balloon, it’s really beautiful.
I keep coming back to this lovely blog. A great reminder to re-inflate my balloon after a small set-back this week!
Reading your blog Joel, I felt the preciousness and exquisiteness of my self as a child, only a distant and faint memory, but clearly there. And I felt encouraged to rekindle the connection to who I really am and let go of all the roles and protections I have fabricated in my adult life.
This is so beautiful Joel, so deeply touching, it brought me to tears as I remembered putting my own balloon away, I also kept it safe and am now remembering to breathe into it, allowing it to expand and shine the magnificent colours that it is.
I am sitting here absolutely ‘gob-smacked’ at the sheer beauty, intimacy and simplicity of your writing Joel. It’s difficult to describe the profound effect I feel other than I am deeply touched. Heartfelt thanks.
Oh my God, Joel, again a super story you wrote! I know I read it a while ago, but somehow I found it today again. I forgot about the balloon… but I have it too, here right next to me on a cord joyfully floating in the air and smiling at me: ‘Do you think I will ever go away?’ For those who need an answer here: ‘No, never.’
Gorgeous Joel thank you, a deeply touching analogy because it is so true…
Thank you Joel for a deeply symbolic representation of you returning back to you! I could relate to this being quite a Universal Issue, the first part anyway. It is so evil that we constantly compromise around others.
Joel, you did it again! Your expression is so deeply touching, so intensly and tenderly reminding of a selfmade row of choices. Your adress a truth that’s unbelievably solid to feel in my bodys response to it. Thank you🎈
This is such a beautiful symbol, Joel. Realizing that all our fears and angst are nothing but made up by ourselves and showing more and more of who we really are and by that constantly growing and expanding.
Joel, this blog is absolutely timeless of course and so inspiring; inspiring us to hold on to our balloon, not let anybody stop us from keeping it and showing it.
I just discovered this blog and it brought me to tears Joel…. What an amazing story, I am speachless at the moment. THANK YOU * This should be a little comic oder movie…
I agree. Call Disney, we have a short film that is actually worth making!
This would make a great short comic or even a kids story….???
It SO would nikkimckee. Imagine having this beautiful story to read at school, when you’re already starting to feel so unsure of your gorgeous self, feeling the need to fit in with others. To know that someone else has been feeling all the angst that you’re starting to experience and have it validated that it’s more than ok to keep your precious balloon.
Yes, Nikki, it would make a great children’s story – for children of all ages!
What can I add Joel, this is gorgeous. I will keep filling my balloon with joy knowing we are in this together and that all our balloons are full of beauty, different but equally beautiful.
Joel, I was glued to your every word in this blog. What a delight to read, I still have my balloon too, I kept it safe all this time and now I too am showing it and when I do I can feel the joy in my every step.
This is so beautiful and deeply sad how we put ourselves away. I cried when you wrote about getting it out, touched a nerve! Just this morning I was wondering why I only check in with my body and breath at the end of the day because I feel so beautiful why would I not make that the focus of my day, to feel that expansion in my body where I know I much bigger than the physical self. Love your writing Joel.
This is a greta insight Vanessa, checking in at the start and the end of the day, rather than bringing a consistent awareness through out the day. Its like we check our harness and stripes before diving in and then see what came loose at the end…such a belief that we will have to interact in the way the world is asking us to…
I loved the poignancy of this story, particularly where Joel writes about being unsure of showing his ballon to his wife and kids. Its a big question isn’t it, we may have rekindled our connection to ourselves, but are we willing to allow ourselves to be seen as that, just as who we are?
What I loved about this part was that the wife and kids wanted to see the balloon. They knew there was a balloon and that they were missing out on something. The offered support is bringing the balloon out.
I loved that too Nikki, I then loved that they re discovered their own ballon and brought them out.
So did I Catherine – we can feel the joy of re-connection but still hesitate about sharing that with those closest to us for fear of rejection and being deflated again.
Such a simple story, one that I am sure lots of us can relate to. When I read the story, and reflect on my own balloon there is a sadness that I’ve not always had it with me. But at the same time having people around that remind me that we all have a balloon, this encourages me to come out to play!
I agree Simon, it feels like a childlike excitement to know that everyone has been hiding their beautiful balloons, and that we all feel the vulnerability.
Today I was at a celebration of a friend and it was really amazing, we were so joyful, playful and supporting with one another. I realize that this was because every single one of us brought along their balloon for all to see and all the different colors together created the magic.
Thanks, Diana. It is beautiful to read the comments and feel the joy in re-connecting to this precious part of us, and realising that it never left us. What you describe at the celebration you attended is the grand new way that we can be together.
Diana1975 that’s such a gorgeous description of what a true celebration is, everyone bringing along their own balloon.
You make it so easy to understand and feel what we have ‘lost’, yet what was always there waiting to be found. Hartanne60 (above) commented: “Joel I love how you simply express the grandest truth” – I so agree.
I loved reading this blog again Joel, it nearly brought me to tears feeling my own sadness of locking away my balloon for so many years. What a beautiful reminder that the balloon is always with us no matter what and the joy we feel when we allow it to be expanded and take this amazingness out to the world.
An evenly paced return to the love expanding within. I love this Joel thank you.
Joel, I really loved your sharing. I so related to the reason you hid your balloon away, and the surprise you had to find that it was still there all intact. It just goes to show that what ever we do to distance ourselves from our balloon, it’s still there hidden right under our nose.
Joel, you so eloquently capture the journey that is life and how we can give up on us in it, but we never loose us, that connection is always there, we just need to dust it off and nurture it.
Beautifully said Monica.
Beautiful expressed Monicag, “…dust it of and nurture it.” That is how simple it actually is. Choosing it is the only thing that stands between us living in our connection.
I love this monicag2… ” that connection is always there, we just need to dust it off and nurture it.” …so very true…it is all always there.
Thank you Joel for a deeply inspiring blog , it brought me to tears, knowing that I too have shut my beautiful balloon away for so long, but I am joyful at finding it again and knowing with every breath more of my balloon is expanding, coming out to be seen in all it’s beauty.
Joel, once again your writing moved me deeply. It touched on my own sadness of choosing to pack away my own balloon and how devestating that was for me, nothing could take its place and gosh I did try to find something believe me but nothing did. I now claim my ballon no longer in fear of rejection if someone doesn’t like it. I love it, its everything I have, its me.
Joel you write so beautifully, love it. You should publish a book with you short stories about life, so amazing. I love the ballon story it shows us all the the beauty inside never goes away, that it cannot even be damaged or changed, it just is what it is – LOVE.
I agree, bring on the book.
I agree Catherine and Rachel, bring on the book
Well said Rachel, I love Joel’s story about the balloon – the beauty, the love has never gone, it just was buried under all that Joel was not, but thought he had to become to ‘fit in’. And we all do it, until somebody comes and reminds us that it’s not actually true that we need to let go of our love and tenderness to ‘make it’ in this world.
I agree Rachel, All of Joel’s short stories would make a lovely book. Imagine reading them to your kids as you snuggle up in bed with the.
Thanks Joel, very playful and accurate. Symbolism has a way of touching everyone lovingly with the truth. It gently flows in behind all guards and starts to open up what has been laid to rest. My growing and glowing balloon makes me smile.
Beautifully said ch1956 for when we actually appreciate and understand the symbolism in our day to day lives we can also appreciate and feel the presence of and the magic of God.
Joel I love how you simply express the grandest truth.
Indeed, hartanne60, Joel is an awesome and hugely inspiring writer … and it seems is a great reflection to you, as you too have captured so much in your simply expressed statement.
I agree hartanne60 and it is written is such a glorius and playfull way.
So do I, very well written
I love the truth you bring through your writing Joel – always beautifully inspiring. This brought tears to my eyes as I recalled how I had boxed my glorious balloon so as not to stand out or shine too brightly. Over the years I could feel that existing this way just did not feel true, but had forgotten that this was not who I was. Now I have re-connected to my light, my essence and I feel more and more confident in walking tall with my glorious balloon. At times it feels like this balloon will explode with the immense love I feel within. But it never does, as I now know that when this balloon is connected to me it is divinely designed to eternally expand with my love.
Carola your line ‘but had forgotten that this was not who I was’ is such an incredibly accurate description of what happened to me. How could I have forgotten who I was ? How is that possible that I could spend my adult years being who I was not ?Thank God that I came across Universal Medicine and with their support was able to remember myself.
Joel, your blog really moved me. I too have re-found my balloon, and it’s so delicate yet strong, and I’m slowly learning to blow it up more, to allow it to be seen more.
Same for me monicag2. I realize that my balloon is actually very playful and colorful and it is more fun if I share it with everyone than to keep it in a box.
It is much more fun to have my balloon out of the box. Sometimes it’s still hard not to want to put it back in the box when others come along who want to pop it or who make fun of the colours or try to play the game that their balloon is better. But the more I keep the balloon out the harder it is to put it back in the box as it really feels terrible when the balloon is in a box.
yes i agree its much more fun to have it out of the box, for all to see, it actually inspires others to and gets theirs to re-inflate too,
great analogy Joel, thanks for yet another masterpiece.
Yes to blowing it up- sometimes I blow it up more than others or hold it out for display more than others but I know the more I work with feeling my stillness and essence and letting go of what is not me, then the more full my balloon will be and on show for all to see, humbly so.
What do you write in reply to the Aesop of our age? Your way with writing Joel lights my day. This one brought me to tears, with the vulnerability and openness of you I could feel through every diary entry.
What I want to do is show you my balloon, one that I have been filling with my breath very slowly. It makes some people uncomfortable, but having found it…pristine, delicate and as beautiful as its first moment….it will never be tucked away again.
gorgeous comment and really beautiful blog written with openness and vulnerability. Aesop’s fabels! Yes I agree this and others you have written should definitely be made into a book for all (not to be hidden away in a box : )
Totally agree Vicky, Joels blogs are unique and go straight to the heart, I treasure each one of them for their gentle humour and insight.
Totally agree Vicky. I was a great fan of the fables, but Joel’s collection is even more precious.
Rachel and Joel – talk about ‘beauty beyond compare’! I can feel my inner balloon expanding just through feeling and reading your words. I am feeling inspired to make sure I take regular moments throughout my day to make sure I’m not letting any air escape while also taking the time to add a couple more puffs in there to help it keep growing bigger :).
Your comment brought me back to this blog, to read it again and feel the poignancy of each diary entry. I can relate to everyone of them, substituting “studying hard” for “sport”. Are they so different from each other? I would say not, given that neither one of them wants anything to do with the precious balloon, nor values it highly.
Today’s reading highlighted this entry especially: “I had been keeping my box with the balloon in it to myself for a while now, my wife wanted to see it and so did the kids, but it didn’t feel right to share it – what if they laugh?”. This one hit home (beautifully of course). Having been mocked, we fear its repeat performance. That is why we learn to hide the sacred parts of us…the delicate parts that are so precious to us. How do we survive their ridicule?
The interesting thing that I have discovered is the more I become one with this balloon, the more I fill it, feature it, hold it sacred above all else…..the less I am affected by others’ discontent and disapproval of it. Yes it is awful to witness, but it cannot affect the balloon, the breath I breathe into it, nor me.
We start to learn that delicacy is infused with the strength of the Ages. Never can it be stolen away so easily by any other person. Only we can put it away, for but a time, until we chose its reclamation.
I just read your latest comment and could only reply here… I had to share how much I love this line… “Delicacy is infused with the strength of the Ages” … so true, as is your widsom…
Does this blog and its comments show the power of inspiration? The fact that we deepen understanding together, as one alone could never achieve…
Love it Rachel, the power of inspiration comes from a collective approach to exploring life and its living way.
Joel, It is just lovely what you have shared in your blog, and it is equally lovely to know, from what is written in some of the comments, that many people are now finding and reinflating their beautiful balloons.
A very very beautiful account of how we can re-discover and uncover the special ‘something’ that has been with us all along. Uncovering that special beautiful colourful balloon and learning to blow it up is an amazing metaphor for living from our essence Joel. You write so practically it’s great!
Such a gorgeous blog. I read it to a friend this morning. We enjoyed it so much. It definitely needs to be shared.
Just gorgeous Joel. I actually had a tear in my eye for the little guy who hid his light to fit into the world and how mainstream just pushes us in that direction. How wonderful that our inner light never diminishes, never fades, just waits patiently for us to reconnect to and live outwardly who we truly are. Brilliant writing.
This is so gorgeous Joel, I love it and I loved feeling and seeing your bright beautiful balloon. And it’s reminding me of my own also once hidden away in a cupboard not wanting anyone to laugh or ridicule something so lovely and precious… Slowly and maybe not so slowly I’m now letting it come out on display for all to see and go wow… and to then remember that they too have a ballon just as beautiful that they’ve been hiding away too. 🙂
Dear Joel, I shall print this out and stick it on my front door; anyone who comes to my house can read this and then go and find where their balloon has been hidden. I think to this should be on the back of toilet doors in cinemas, shops, public loos everywhere, so people can ponder their own balloon story.
As with many other comments shared, I felt sad reading this, because the demise from sweet, gorgeous little Joel should never have had to happen. I can insert my name here too, and many billions of others. One by one we are finding AND blowing up our balloons, and together, as one giant group we will float onwards and upwards and out of here.
Our balloons are indestructible. Within all of us exists these wonderful balloons, like when Superman rips open his shirt to say ‘here I am’, it never goes away.
I love the playfulness of your blog Joel, it is such a great analogy of how most of us have lived our life.
Gorgeous Joel thank you for sharing.
This is so awesome Joel, I felt such playfulness and laughed out loud in parts and at the same time could feel such sadness in feeling how I packed away my own balloon all those years ago too. Your words are so simple yet so profound, and I feel inspired to keep bringing my balloon out into the world no matter how people might look or want to pop it!
I realise as I sit here, how I still measure my value on what I can do rather than who I am naturally. Is it enough? Do I feel enough?
Is it possible that being is value, Shiny, expansive, beautiful, sweet, and holding the breath of God, my breath, within and without?
Joel, this is a very beautiful analogy of our essence we learn to leave behind. And I love how you share in the opening of the box after so many years that it remained perfect – so true.
Joel, this is such a beautiful blog/story, I have tears in my eyes. I put my balloon away a long while back, when I was very very young. I love your words “The real joy, the real beauty, is not from knowing where it is but from having it blown up and on display”. Joel, I am also now in the process of blowing my beautiful balloon up and slowly putting it on display. Still a work in progress, it is getting bigger and more beautiful every day, but the day is coming, closer and closer, when it will be fully out there for all to see – wot ho!
How beautiful the day will be when we all have our gorgeous balloons out on display! How joyful the whole world will then be.
Dear Joel, thank you for sharing your joy and tenderness at finding your balloon again, it made me smile, and connect to the simplicity of love. I don’t have to go anywhere, do anything, it’s all there, everything I am looking for, inside of me – and has been since the day one, nothing makes me feel more content than being with me. All these thoughts and woes just disappear, and all that is left is joy, love, simplicity and clarity.
Reading this I was reminded of the magical moment at hot air balloon festivals when the anchoring ropes are released and the balloons soar up gracefully without restraint to be seen in full.
Joel. What a tale. What a man. What a balloon!
So glad you share you with us.
This is such a beautiful story. I too packed up my balloon and hid it away however I’m just starting to blow it back up again.
There is indeed a joy to experience when we go back out into the world with the love that we are – this is something I am gradually accepting. And like the story I feel I am at the point, when knowing that who I am is always with me isn’t enough, and that sharing it with others is actually more natural than keeping it and others away.
Joel – this would make a brilliant illustrated book – one that young and old can relate to – i will certainly share this with my brood. Everyday making my balloon my normal. Thank-you.
I absolutely love how you write Joel. Your balloon analogy has filled me with joy.. and I’ve blown my own balloon up a bit more too!
Joel I had a very sad feeling and tears running from the very beginning as I could sense what was coming. But the ending is beautiful and you recovered your balloon and your breath and will never stop expanding.
What a beautiful blog Joel. I could feel the tenderness in what you wrote. and can relate to the story, Thank you
This should be an illustrated children’s book Joel.
Our beauty is far too great to be kept in a box…
Thank you for this touching piece.
Agree, Kylie, there has to be a beautiful children’s book to come from all the wonderful stories Joel has written. I’m sure it will be there ready for me in my next life, with my next round of children. What a beautiful book it will be.
Great metaphor Joel, I can truly relate to hiding my beautiful colourful balloon afraid of how people would react. But now I am too filling it with my breath, letting in more air day by day.
Joel your beautifully playful blog just reminds me that our deep tenderness and love is always a part of us. It can never be erased, destroyed or replaced. Thank you this is wonderful.
I love your blog Joel. We were all beautiful, innocent and tender children once and as we went out into the big cruel world, we had to become hard and cruel to survive, or so we were taught at school. It’s wonderful that we can go back to those innocent and tender childhood days and change our lives and be like that, Now!
What a gorgeous story Joel, I also loved the part about the comfort of just knowing where the balloon is. We can easily get stuck there. I have been blowing up my ballon but at times it gets so big it scares me and I deflate it a bit again…but I am learning how immensely painful and tiresome this actually is. So I will keep this image of this huge balloon that can grow and grow for everyone to see!
What a beautiful blog Joel, it is amazing to rediscover this new balloon. And it supports us walking through live, what a pity we have put it away for so long!
I love your stories Joel. They remind me of past times, when stories with depth and wisdom were shared in families and communities.
Yes Fiona I agree – now these kind of stories are also packed in an other type of box because nowadays people are not really interested in them anymore. Instead you can read stories in newspapers or magazines which have not the same quality – actually sometimes some of these stories are full of lies . . . what does this say about our living quality????
I so love your analogy Joel. It touched me deeply. My whole life flashed in front of me as I read your words. I can remember how full of myself I was in my early childhood. Then as I grew up that faded as I tried to fit in and be accepted in life. Re-connecting back to myself with the support of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I am learning to bring all of me to the world once again.
I once had a friend describe to me that they knowingly packed a part of themselves away in a box when they were very young. Joel you have described exactly what they were sharing they had felt had happened to them.
So tender and so gorgeous and so relatable. There is a book in this with beautiful pictures. Dear Diary. Today someone was sharing about how stunning and beautiful their balloon was, it was not perfect but it was so light and colourful and just shone like the sun. I could feel the love they had for their balloon and wondered about my own balloon. Sometimes my balloon is there for all to see and sometimes it’s not. I feel very inspired by those who always display their balloons and allow it to be fully inflated without any worries about it bursting, allowing it to shine. And thank full for those who are honest about where there balloons are and are working playfully to display their balloons as often as they can. Thank you Joel.
So sweet….Me and my balloon will be out there in full color today! Thank you Joel, your blogs always touch me very deeply.
such a sweet blog… I love it. I love the way you have made the man change as he grows from boy – teenager – adult, the way he is speaking is so much like what really happens throughout the changes in life. So well written Joel, I love your blogs!
I loved reading this story Joel, and how we hide away from showing the world who we really are. The balloon is a beautiful analogy and how we can play small or truly be in our fullness – the choice is ours.
Beautiful blog Joel, it so well describes what most of us go through – put our true selves aside to just get on with it…..but we always can choose to re-connect to the love and tenderness we all are, it never goes away.
Yes Esther, it’s the anology that the balloon represents our true selves (or inner heart) that I’m sure most of us can relate to – in keeping parts to ourselves, hiding parts away and then make a reconnection to ourselves etc. in truth our true self never leaves us and is never separate from us and hence finding this is always within…
It is such a cute way to express how we leave the fullness of us. As Leonne so rightly said, it is indestructible, so why hide it!
I recognise this story : )
When we let go of our balloons (love and joy), in reaction to others, we become less and as we become less, the world does too. Love and joy are forever with us. All we are called to do is breathe gently and re-connect to our expansive and beautiful selves.
Love how you show how easy it is to come back to our balloons, “breathe gently and re-connect to our expansive and beautiful selves”.
Such a beautiful account Joel of what we all do as children and I love how simple and clear you guide the reader through the years of what happens to us in order to ‘fit in’, through the medium of dear diary. Love it.
Such a beautiful blog Joel which brought a tear to my eye as well because I remember too the moment as a child when I decided to deflate my ballon and put it away thinking it was the best thing to do for everyone. So gorgeous when you describe the moment when you decided to let your family in to see all of you again for the first time and that they loved you all the more for it.
I love this analogy Joel, you paint a very true picture. It made me wonder about my balloon…I too had tucked it away about the same age. I re-discovered it in my 20s, but made the mistake of filling it with helium. It didn’t feel right at the time but everyone else was doing it and their balloons looked so big and bright and shiny, they really dazzled me. But I found that it is very difficult to walk holding onto a gi-normous helium balloon! So recently, I let the helium out and now I join you filling my balloon up with my own breath –bit by bit, both feet on the ground. I feel enormous.
He he…love the reference about helium. Gosh I did that too – make it all bright and shiny and no-one will ever know the difference that it’s not real. Gorgeous blog Joel, sad to read in ways because I know I put my balloon away for many many years but it is so deeply inspiring and very cool that so many of us are deciding to bring their balloons out and fill them with our own breath and our own amazingness.
Joel I am always in awe of your writing and the way it captivates and holds me through any story you so beautifully tell and this one is just so deeply gorgeous, it brought tears to my eyes. You are a true master of showing us the truth, the love, the humour and the wisdom that comes from reconnecting and expressing with your balloon firmly in hand.
Super beautiful Joel. I had little tears well up…You have captured what many people go through with life. It was sad to read the second entry but that is exactly what happens…My big beautiful balloons was away in the box too. It was super cute to read about your wife and kids wanting to see the balloon and how they weren’t surprised when they saw it.. Just shows that even though we try to hide we simply can’t.. Everyone can see how awesome we are anyway.
Well said Emily: “Just shows that even though we try to hide we simply can’t.. Everyone can see how awesome we are anyway”. We can often be our worst critics and so even when we receive a loving compliment due to the way we may have been living it can be so easy to brush it off and not actually receive the love that is on offer.
So true James
So True Emily and James. We often don’t see the gorgeousness of ourselves even though it is so obvious.
Agreed – at some level while we are trying to protect ourselves, other people, and especially those close to us, can see right through to what is precious and delicate in us all. No matter where we try to hide it, some light still escapes.
What a truly gorgeous way to show how we have shut down precious parts of ourselves and hidden them so others wouldn’t be jealous. That man you met who was blowing up his own balloon so that others could get theirs out again, how awesome is he! When everyone goes and finds their balloons and keeps breathing gently into them the world will feel amazing.
Time to blow up our balloons as well and let the ripple effect gently turn the world around.
Hi Joel, once again I thoroughly enjoyed your wonderful story. I too had not seen my balloon for many years and thought it must surely have perished but no there it was right where it was left all those years ago next to my heart. Little by little I take it further out of the box. I love your comment “The real joy, the real beauty, is not from knowing where it is, but from having it blown up and on display”. This is my aim for the not to distant future! Thank you for such a insightful blog.
Joel it is so clear the world is meant to be filled to exploding with the most beautiful and vivacious balloons. These balloons are equally delicate and strong, in fact they are indestructable. We are so afraid they will be destroyed when this is not actually possible – they can only be hidden. How crazy it is that we keep the expression of of love and joy to ourselves.
Beautifully said Leonne.
Yep, Leonne and Joel, I agree, we have so much to share that we keep for ourselves or we have altered out of fear of destruction and jealousy.
Joel, I love this, my balloon is up again too, though for a while there have been parts of my life where I hide it, or sometimes leave it at home for the day. Time to show it off to the world again, everyone deserves to share the joy of my balloon.
I’v found my balloon too, Leighstrack. And guess what? its heart shaped!
Connecting with our own hearts is something that we can do any time any place. With each breath we had the opportunity to feel our gentleness, Tenderness, and who we truly are. This never goes, it will always be there.
Wow, A-mazing. Just what I needed to read today. I’ve saved it to my reading list, thanks Joel.
Wow Joel, I loved this, I had tears flowing when you rediscovered your balloon and felt how I too have kept my balloon packed and hidden from view. I feel inspired to bring it out, blow it up, let it soar and appreciate it for it’s unwavering love. With deep thanks and heartfelt appreciation for your expression.
Super beautiful, I very much enjoyed your story Joel. So simple.
Wow! Amazing blog Joel, I’ll buy your books any day. And it’s just reminded me to keep blowing up my balloon and not try and hide it under my shirt while I’m out in public!
Wow Joel, this one went straight into my heart and touched it deeply. What a powerful story…
This is lovely Joel – thank you . I feel the touch of how we breathe life in and out of who we truly are.
Absolutely beautiful Joel, thank you
I loved re-reading this Joel, I had a big smile on my face the whole time.
Your balloon awesome metaphor Joel, loved it.
How lovely, this just goes to show it doesn’t matter how far we have strayed from who we are or how lost we feel or that we believe we will never find what we are looking for to make us feel complete; or that we have to seek something special outside of ourselves. It’s a choice to dig down to the very heart of who we are, breathe our own breath and live that for all to see. As once you let people see you for who you are they smile and say of course I’ve known you all along.
Such a special, joyful and heartfelt blog. I was very touched by the quote “After some coaxing, I opened the box and showed them… they didn’t blink – of course that’s you, they said. And as I shared mine, they went and got theirs… turns out my kids hadn’t packed theirs away too far.” When people say “of course thats you”…I have felt this and experienced these moments, profound and very truthful. Thank you.
So beautiful and deeply joyful, thank you Joel.
Joy, tenderness and a tear… Thank God for men such as you Joel, who have re-found and rekindled the tenderness within.
A poignant reminder that it always remains.
So true Joel, the metaphor you used was perfect; simple but it completely sums up the way that our light is tampered with as our lives go on.
Dear Joel, now who could not connect or relate to this beautiful metaphor? Thank you for the magical way you weave universal truth into the most simple and basic experiences of life.
Wow. Gosh. That is glorious Joel That is wondrous!
Thank you Joel for a heart felt sharing that brought my tears to me, I will keep blowing my balloon up and reflecting back to your story.
I loved this from start to finish. Sometimes I find metaphors too complicated but this one is lovely and simple but profound. Thank you Joel
Joel I loved this blog. A beautiful way to express a very profound issue. It brought a tear to my eye as I related to how I missed my balloon that I’d packed away a long time ago, however with the support of Serge Benhayon, the esoteric practitioners and the teachings of Universal Medicine, I’m with you on the last paragraph and it’s joyful.
I feel deeply touched by these beautiful diary entries. 😊
Dear Diary, this brings tears to my eyes and my whole body just drops a hardness it is holding. As always Joel you have such an incredible way of allowing people to relate and re-connect to their inner-heart and way of naturally being through your words. I love all the parables that you share, so deeply beautiful, felt and such joy to be shared – thank you. I’m going to gently blow up my balloon full for the whole word to see — by the way it is absolutely huge and so so amazing!
Joel, your playfullness invites us all to celebrate ourselves! I so enjoy your expression. Thank you.
Oh fantastic Joel. I could feel the difference in the writing when connected with your balloon. I can relate to burying the balloon to just having it there, but now I agree with letting it expand and sharing. It’s the ONLY way.
How wonderful to feel the joy in your blog, thank you Joel.
Joel this is awesome. Like you I’ve unpacked my balloon and have been rediscovering the joy of having it in my life. But I realise I’ve still been a little hesitant to see how big it can be and to take it out in the world all the time.
I was also inspired to share this with my son who is just about to turn 7 and is really starting to feel the tension between holding on to his balloon or packing it away. I read each diary entry in turn and then asked what it meant to him. He got it, he could see how we often make choices based on what other people think and do rather than treasuring our own feelings first. He talked about the pressure at school. He knew exactly who the man with the balloon was. So thank you Joel for writing a simple yet powerful parable for all ages.
Truly inspirational as always Joel. Thank you. 🙂
This is beautiful Joel!!! I really appreciate how you have written this. I’m off to see how full my balloon is and to get a sense of whether it is hot air or gentle air I have been filling it up with today! And to share this beautiful analogy with my daughter. Love it!!
These moved me very deeply… and a light hearted way to share such a deep point. Thank You!
This is so delightful to read, a magical description of life and our gorgeous inner expression. I can so imagine cartoon visuals for this, my balloon is sat upright, joyful and bright in response to your balloon, and in anticipation of all those other balloons that will be coming out to play.
Thank you, dear Joel, for reminding me of my balloon. I’m sure mine is around here somewhere… I am sure I have seen it a few times, empty or only partially filled with air. I’m afraid to fill it completely, I guess. Afraid that it will blow up in my face, or afraid people will not like me or my balloon. And that’s a start, I guess… admitting that. Again: thank you, for your healing words.
The symbolism of the balloon expresses beautifully what we are all hiding away from ourselves and others. Thanks Joel, I’m touched by this and feeling how we squash our tenderness and fragility.
Joel, once again you have written such a beautiful and inspiring piece. So simple and so visual. You have such a wonderful way of writing. I have a lovely vision of some people holding up all different colours and sizes – some sparkly, some shining, some bright and some just a little blown up. How great to wake up to read this. Thank you.
Joel, this is so amazing! Thank you for your gift of a balloon.
Awesome…
Awesome diary entries Joel, love it.
Love it, Joel! What a great allegory to describe the cycle most go through to hide who they are, to fit in with general society. It’s definitely time for us to re-discover and re-inflate our own balloons and feel the delight of feeling light again.
Gorgeous, thank you Joel.
What an awesome blog, it brought out the smile in me, thank you Joel!
Thanks so much Joel for sharing your diary with us all, and in your usual eloquent way. It pretty much describes the arc of all our lives which appeared to be ‘going somewhere’.
Your balloon is so beautiful – it is no fickle hot-air balloon that flies above the land with the potential to ignite and destruct. Rather, its delicious colours – the qualities you bring in your own expression of the oneness – are felt by us all, with the expanding breath bringing us all back home.
Love it Joel – what a fantastic expression. 🙂
Simply beautiful. I Love your expression Joel. Thank You for showing us all your balloon. I’m just off to bring mine out of the box again. I found it a while back too but I’ve been trying to protect it so keep on putting it away again. Feeling sad about that but also inspired to blow it up and put it out there for all to see and feel.
Gosh, that’s beautiful. Tears in my eyes.
Dear Joel, what a beautiful blog re balloons – I am so glad you found yours again, I found mine too and blowing it up again has been so much fun! I was sure it had a puncture and could never be blown up again, but it turns out I could seal it over with some love. In fact the more love I give it, the bigger it gets!
Dear Joel, you have such a talent for telling a metaphoric story that appears to be about the temporal world but in reality is about the inner life that is lived from our inner heart. Your blogs are very entertaining at the time and I find stay active in my body for a long, long time afterwards. In fact just thinking back I can still recall two other Joel Fables that are still active in me. Thank YOU kind sir for sharing your talent with us all.
Well written Gayle, I couldn’t have put it better myself.
So very well said Gayle.
And into words exactly what I have felt and been grappling with for a very long time. Thank you Joel for expressing in such a wonderfully clear and playful way. Truly a delight to unpack my own balloon and yes I laughed when you wrote “At times I get nervous it will burst so I let a bit of air out, but it never does, so slowly and slowly I keep filling…”. Those feelings I know very well, what if, too much etc. etc. Amazing how much we monitor our balloon expansion. Love it.
Great point Lee: ‘Amazing how much we monitor our balloon expansion’. It makes me realise that when we surrender to the process there is only ever a deepening and an expansion and never ever the ‘pop’ that we had long braced for.
Dear Joel, what a beautiful piece… I have a smile from ear to ear and right across my heart. Thank you.
What a brilliant reflection Joel. I’m still smiling with joy! I so love metaphor! Thank you.