Cracking Out

A friend proposes that an embryonic chicken's "cracking out" of her shell occurs when there is no more food in the shell hence, "she will search beyond the safety and confinement of her containment when there is no more nourishment within.”

This analogy is powerful for parents as well as for teens-transitioning-towards-adulthood. Kids need to grow and for a while they will remain in the safety of their home and other environments that represent their particular “shell”. But as time goes on, their reach, physically, mentally, emotionally, searches for meaning and experience beyond the shell, hungry and hard-wired to move beyond their confines. It is at this moment that choice enters in. Some choices they will discover are wise, new friends that enhance life, new endeavors that add dimension to their growth. Yet some avenues and people will prove unhealthy. The discerning adolescent will begin to pick up on these unhealthy choices and opt out. Others will remain and face the challenge of developing the will and discernment to detach themselves from choices of activities and friends that serve to their detriment. It is here that parents, teachers and therapists play such a key role in supporting this growth and guiding individuals to more positive choices. . Some may say, that many of us don’t want to move on from our safety net, from our shell. “Aren't we all chicken to evolve beyond our own level of comfort," at times? Yes, but it is often then that the human brain and the world conspire to engage us in opportunity that allow us to move outside our comfort zones, the only way in which we can grow and lay claim to the dreams to which we aspire. A shell is a nice thing up to a point, but life forever in the shell is not what its cracked up to be.