Alexander Zamachaj

We have a little piece of paradise in the middle of the woods in a rural town in Vermont that affords us the opportunity as a family to get away and decompress from the busyness of life. Its a little plot in a valley where cell service is spotty and we rarely see anyone come through. I’ve built a shed with bunks where we sleep and a covered pavilion that gives us shelter from the rain when the sky decides to dump its accumulated moisture on us. Years ago, near the base of a birch tree near the edge of the pavilion, I noticed the glass bottle in the picture above. It sits at just the right angle for dirt to have slowly rolled in over the years, accumulating enough where the spores of neighboring ferns have also made their way in and had enough soil to take root. That and some moss and its like a nature made terrarium in a forgotten glass bottle. What I find so unique about this little terrarium is that the ferns, identical to those just outside it, are little miniature versions of their big brothers and sisters. They grew to the limits placed upon them. They are still beautiful, just held back by the literal glass ceiling they are growing in. When I took this picture this weekend, the bottle seemed a little flooded from recent rains and I was tempted to empty it out, but on second thought, I left it alone because by emptying it out, I might have dislodged the ferns, they could have come out with the water, or I could have deprived them of the water they need to survive. I don’t know how long that bottle has been there, but we have owned the property for around 16 years and its been there much longer than that. So I left the bottle alone, not wanting to disturb it.

That glass bottle is the perfect metaphor for the glass ceilings we either place upon ourselves in life or are placed upon us. Do we even realize that we have a glass ceiling? We may not. Many times, we come to be perfectly happy with where we are in life, with what we are doing, with our jobs, our social circles, our families. And that is perfectly ok. As the fern, we can live beautiful, full lives inside our little glass bottle. There is nothing wrong with that, and in some cases, its admirable that we are able to flourish as much as we can within certain confines. But what if those confines are restricting us from more opportunities for growth? Are we happy with where we are or are we just content? There is a difference and sometimes its not as hard to break through that glass ceiling as we might think. Sometimes, all it takes is trying something different, having the courage to break our routine and talk to different people or apply for a different job. Sometimes, it pays to see what our childhood dream was and if we think that will afford us more opportunity, then pursue it. Yes, we can lead full, wonderful lives where we are, but maybe we are being called to burst through that glass ceiling and move out into the bigger world.

For myself, I felt the need to start writing again, so I did. I procrastinated for a long time, but finally said enough, sat down and started writing again. I felt the pull to do something more and change even just a little of my routine and see where it leads me. What is something that you really want to do that you’ve been putting off? Go after it and expand your horizons. A month or so ago, I signed up for a weekly newsletter from James Clear and I find one of his quotes to be perfectly in line with breaking our own glass ceiling. He says, “Luck flows through people and travels by conversation. The people you talk to determine the opportunities you find. Keep talking to the same people, keep finding the same opportunities. Start talking to new people, start finding new opportunities. If you want different luck, start walking into different rooms.” I had never thought of opportunity this way, but it makes perfect sense when I think about it. I own my business and many times, by talking to different people, I’ve stumbled upon opportunities for new work. The same goes for different work, a different job, a change and an opportunity to break that glass ceiling that we either placed upon ourselves or we feel was placed upon us. The question is, are we happy where we are, or could we perhaps grow a little bigger and burst out from under our glass ceiling. The fern has no choice in the matter, its spores blew in on a chance and its living its best life. We, as humans, however, have the power to make the change if we so choose. Will you be courageous enough?

Link to James Clear