Approximate read time: grab a coffee 😘
I read the best quote the other day and as usual, I just knew I had to share it with you ♥︎
Get ready, because it is amazing:
(*the word rush, in this context, implies 'thrill' or 'excitement')
FRIEND. If your mind isn't blown yet, allow me to contribute a few of my own words to this quote to expand on its truth:
The space: that time or distance between realizing you want or need something different than where you are. You've put some parts of that plan into motion and now, you're wondering how/if/when it is all going to come together.
The resistance: Wondering - how long with this take? Why is it going this way? Questioning the path, the time frame, the mechanisms, etc. Fighting any part of the reality of it, is resistance to what is.
Optional: Whether we decide to have peace in the unfolding of a new chapter or anxiousness and stress, is our CHOICE.
Let me be the first to raise my hand and say that I was the queen of resistance.
Before coming to the awareness that I choose what thoughts I believe, I just expected that in seasons of change, you're supposed to be consumed by stressed. Even now, knowing differently, I still feel tempted regularly to indulge in stress and worry, though I now know there is little use for them.
But here is the beauty of these seasons that stretch us and call us to grow:
Have you ever been in the midst of a big change, lamenting how stressful and uncertain it was?
It permeated every conversation you had.
It dominated your thoughts.
It stole sleep from your nights and focus from your days?
And then POOF!
One day, you arrive where you were working so hard to land,
the stress and uncertainty of the transition behind you.
You did it.
You're here.
And then very quickly, life feels SO predictable and normal once again?!
You may sit in this normal space for a moment or two. But not long after....another 'want' or 'need' is going to rise up. Another desire for change and growth will bubble to the surface. Before long, you've exited the routine of regular and you're looking down the road toward the next 'wouldn't it be amazing/helpful/ideal if...?' possibility.
Because friend! WE WANT THIS. We want change because with change comes growth; and we are ever growing, expanding, evolving beings!
So here's what I want to leave you with: the next time you find yourself in a season of disruption, as you navigate between where you are and where you're going...can you take a minute and say to yourself: this right here, is the RUSH OF LIFE.
You may feel all the things in that moment. But feeling all those things means you are ALIVE.
And in that moment of acknowledging that you are in the RUSH of LIFE, can you take a moment to analyze if any feelings are resistance (stress, worry, anxiousness, doubt, confusion). If they are, can you kindly tell yourself that those feelings are OPTIONAL. And once you've put them neatly away in a box in your mind labeled OPTIONAL, can you then take a moment to recognize how you are
GROWING
and
STRENGTHENING
and
ADAPTING
to the season you find yourself in? Relish in the goodness of that knowledge!
Because here's the truth: our lives are going to be filled with seasons of change and disruption, mostly out of our personal desire to grow. So how amazing would it be, if in the pursuit of making every moment count, we could learn to get comfortable in the discomfort of change. To recognize what goodness it brings to our lives and also, that we have the power not to indulge in any resistant thoughts that threaten our peace in the process.
THIS is empowerment in action. I'm still a student of it myself and will remain one always, but already I can attest: it is life changing. I wish the very same empowering experience for you ♥︎