Coming out of the womb, breaking through the eggshell, or sprouting out of the earth is the first challenge in life. Then the the first breath makes us cry, temperature and hunger assail us. Yet there is no other way.
At this point we rely on the protection of our makers, the benevolence of our surroundings, and a lot of luck to survive. There is not point in considering going it alone, it's just way too wild out there!
But many have made it before us, and if we just get through the next painful, challenging moment, maybe we'll grow into something magnificent.
We are born from others, through breaking out of their protection, painfully and challengingly.
This extraordinary achievement is only the first step on a long journey, we are still to hear our calling and grasp where we come from before we can spread our wings.
We are not born in a vacuum, neither are we expected to reinvent the wheel.
Our ancestry and the traditions that define our environment hold and support us long enough for us to stand on our own to feet.
They are not meant to hold us back, they stake us, help us grow upward. Then it is on us to own them, understand them, and learn how to use them as a springboard rather than a trap.
Without the openness to what is to come, there is no becoming. And while not much has become yet, there is no knowing what's what and who's who.
It is not because we are blind, blank and powerless that we can't know, it is because nothing is determined yet. Allies have not decided to join, rivals have not decided to fight, the path is not carved through the jungle, and the wheels are still turning at random.
What is said and done at this point is nondescript, undecided, nothing and no one is ready.
The vision is mighty, urgent, a pull. But it is a far away destination.
Earnestness may drive us into deeper ends than we can handle. There is time... First, we need to acquire a process, navigate the learning curve, rally our supports and guides.
Commitment to our destination is about walking the path, taking the next step, completing the next task. We have to find fulfilment in the progress if we are to get anywhere.
Being, becoming, seeking, loving, are individual realities that can’t happen without the holding and mirroring of another.
Our partners in life build us up, not because ‘they make us’, but because we can’t grow without them, not as tall, not as straight.
As much as we need it however, we are not entitled to others’ guidance and support. We earn those through humble recognition, a willingness to go along and cater to their needs too. Then anything is possible.
Before any direction can be chosen, any step taken, any endeavour designed or dreamt, we have to get a sense of where we are in the world, set our departure point, something we may need to return to, wherefrom we may drift or leave. What makes this point our root is fickle, and as much as we are loyal to it, our definition of what it means may change. We don't need to be stubborn about where we come from and what it has to offer, our sense of it can change too.
We inherit an idea of what we ought to become. Our parents hope for us, the idea of success that our society promotes, what we’re told we can and can’t do.
We’re told of bills we must foot and we try more or less diligently. Then the pain of trying to be something we’re not hits us, and anger, sadness, a deep sense of betrayal take us over.
Conforming is restful up to the point where it is self-denying.
Sprouting
Difficulty at the beginning
Rallying
Difficulties