Choose Your Hard….I find myself saying this a lot lately. I think of the weight of what we are carrying: climate change, pandemics, racial injustice, mass shootings, violence in the Middle East, grief, loss, etc… It overwhelms.
Everything feels hard at times and even positive forward movement can feel like a drain. But I keep going. There are times I feel like choosing the easier path but the reality is the easier path is an illusion because there is absolutely no growth there. Plus, there tend to be new challenges at the end of that lonely road. Disengagement, avoidance, and caging my emotions just does not work. Disengagement leads to a floaty feeling as if I am outside looking into my own life and my emotions inevitably break out of the cages I’ve placed them.
Yes, we are out of alignment and may be for a while, but maybe not. I choose to lean into the challenges, because I know that acknowledging my experience is the first step to getting through it. But I know that is not an easy process as it requires connecting to the impact of the state of things on myself and on those around me. I stay in it by taking breaks when I need to through healthy distractions, by taking care of myself as best I can, by borrowing strength when I need to, and through my own resilience. I choose to lean into the mess and I know I am not alone on this journey as there are countless travelers walking alongside me.