The Princess and Pea Effect

Something hidden and real

Like the princess in the fable who was tested about being a REAL princess, we sometimes have a sense or a feeling about something hidden underneath layers of who knows what. Something itches from the inside that wants to be noticed.

Maybe a thought is sparked by an inside knowing that seems like a gentle pull of wondering “is that really true or not true”? For me it’s often a twinge in my heart, or a slight stab in my gut.

Bombarded by information, my head yearns for a break. But even when I slow down my thoughts other messages are poking me from the inside outward. Watching a young child play brings about a feeling of calmness. I recently saw a parent jerk a small child by the arm to control her behavior. A sudden pain struck my abdomen, causing me to instinctively react with discomfort.

Feelings often get stuffed and forgotten to our detriment even though those exact messages want to be heard. Health research shows that unexpressed feelings can turn into anger, rage and revenge toward people we care about or even cause our health to suffer.

No matter the philosophies we were raised by, whether by parents, stepparents, grandparents, other relatives, or foster care, few of us have lived in a fully nurturing environment. Personal experiences are often mistranslated and stored as misconstrued information that we attempt to validate over and again.

When we become more self-aware, the truth begins to nudge and poke so we might reconsider what we thought we knew. As a child watching my grandmother cry, it took years to unpack that it wasn’t about me ----my fault. I felt ashamed. The pea under layers of guilt kept on showing up until I took a deeper look at what might be giving her pain.

Peas under the mattress are there for a purpose to expose our truths, untruths and misguided truths. A sense of relief and acceptance might be waiting as you uncover the layers of separation from the real you yearning to show up.