Where we are now never makes more sense than in regard to where we come from. Our path between then and now traces a trajectory, a course of our life, and the only real indication as to whether we are going in the right direction.
As much as nostalgia is a pretty unhelpful state of mind, keeping track of what our dream is, what we value and seek, which foundation we rest on is a necessary condition to progress. It is our compass.
Nevertheless, we can't be out and about, seeking solace and achievement out there in the big wild world, and cling to our roots at the same time. The pursuit involves tides, waves of conquests and withdrawal, cycles that set much more in motion deep down than on the surface.
Adhering to our life purpose requires us to reconnect to our values, to rest, to regroup, to refuel so that we find and sustain the energy to go out again for the next season.
Acceptance of who we are, and of life on life’s terms are a pre-requisite to any pursuit.
With that clarity comes an itinerary; a map of where we can grow emerges out of the cosmic mystery and shakes us into motion, gives us the courage to break out of familiar protection and go into the world with avidity.
Where we come from holds as much of our strength as it does our pain.
Going out into the world and straying from the path, exploring options and contemplating changes is a pursuit of growth, a trajectory.
It does not actually require us to reject what we know. Our roots are a place we can come back to, rest in, spring from, get our direction from.
Whichever way we are heading is somewhere from our roots.
Like the tree requires strong roots to grow strong branches, we need to invest in our foundation and our heritage to have the resources to expand.
With that solidity under our feet, we can jump, we can widen our circle, we can rest and refuel. Growth is not a one time thing, neither is it a linear process. It has cycles, moving our focus from branch to root to root to branch and back.
Without it, our growth is hindered, with that knowing, patience and acceptance of cycle and practice, our potential is infinite.
Staying close to home gives us a sense of safety, that there is a net to catch us, a place to rest when exhaustion hits.
Yet until we travel far enough to need other reliance -on our connections, our inner resolve, our resources- we cannot gauge our luck or our talent.
There is no shame or harm in maintaining some comfort in the gradual extension of our capacity; it builds resilience and stamina. But excess gentleness mostly delays the inevitable.
The sooner we realise that we survive when all goes wrong, the sooner we find our wings.
We’re told things, given definitions and assigned missions. They make sense as what we know, until experience wakes us up to a deeper truth.
Whether we embrace or reject, tweak or turn upside down those ideas we had, we find our way home, to faith that is our own, defines us and connects us to our path.
The truths of others is only an echo, whether what they say matches what we know or not, we are the sole owner of our experience and beliefs, and no one can acquire these for us.
Few things are harder to achieve than shattering our illusions about who we are.
Every choice we make, every step we take, every encounter, endeavour, outcome, teaches us things we add to the lot we know. The cumulation draws a messy picture which we can go far through life without ever questioning.
If we do, however, dare to look into ourself for those lessons we wish to retain, those self-definitions we truly stand-by, and take a good look at what our trajectory really says, we might free ourselves of a lot of baggage and finally recognise our self in the mirror.
In the comfort of home or our inner reality, we find our authenticity, what grounds us, our back bone. But none of that means anything if it doesn't find a way to exist in interaction with the world, to confront itself to reality and become truer for it.
In that being in the world, holding fast to what we know to be true inside, in complete rejection of outside influence leads us into a conflict we can't possibly win. If we try anyway, the defeat may burn us in our core and take away our will to be in the world at all.
We need to understand that the universe won't change for us, hardly with us. It is but a playing ground to practice being real, becoming encompassing and a participant in life.
Returning
Return (the turning point)