What I've discovered about growing...

Growth is not linear. A few words that took me a long time to realize. I would be going along quite nicely on this journey of self-discovery and expansion that I’ve embarked on, doing all the ‘good’, right things that are required, and overcoming challenges and obstacles in a manner that would make you clap in congratulations, and then, BAM! Out of nowhere, I’d do my foolish action, think my foolish thought, AGAIN! It is frustrating, to say the least, and to say more, it makes me want to kick myself in the butt, slap myself silly, read the riot act to myself, and send me off to bed without any porridge!  

I thought this growth thing was a straight, continuous, uninterrupted, unbroken, steady line of accomplishments. It’s not. It is undulating, meandering, and choppy. There are ditches, dungeons, and dangerous bends. It was only within the last recent days that I realized, for myself, what people like Iyanla was saying.

Iyanla teaches that when you’re on a path of enlightenment and growth, you learn tenets and truths on one level, then what happens is, when you learn those things on one level, you have to put it into practice. That’s where the non-linear bit starts – you’re being put into situations to pass the ‘tenet exam’ at that level. So, you are a good student and you pass at level one. Hooray! But wait. There’s level two. What happens next, you are put into an even more ‘trying’ situation that will test your accomplishment on a higher level...and so on and so on. Sometimes you literally feel like you’re going ‘round in circles!

But to counter all that, there is Divine guidance, a good number of mountain-top experiences, and the satisfaction that no matter what, you’ve begun the journey. This in itself is such an achievement, because for a long time I knew I had to begin it, but like so many others, I dreaded the work.

And it is work, trust me! Grueling, torturous, work.

However, when you take a look at the overall picture, you see that you HAVE grown! Maybe not in an ‘A to B to C to D’ kind of way, but you have moved ahead and upward in your actions, and thoughts, and connection with God and the Universe.

And that is comforting.

Charms.

Photo from: myjustliving.com