Gentle readers,
Last night I had the all-too-rare pleasure of stopping by one of my soulsisters' house on the way home for an unhurried catch-up session. Talk started on the surface (weather survival, dr. visit updates, newsflashes from job and home) and eventually, as is prone to happen with us, got dug in and downright philosophical. Turning points. Does everyone have them? I was pretty sure that they do. Or, at least epiphanies. But what does it take to spark the flame? Why do some of us insist on letting things get so out of hand before we're willing to acknowledge that, "This path is just getting more and more overgrown and I can no longer lift my feet high enough to keep walking." At what turning point do we decide we have must take a new path?
It reminded me of this cool Web site I've visited time and again. Turns (<---right click, "Open in New Window") is fascinating and breathtakingly beautiful in its interface. You can't help but leave there with a different perspective than the one you bring with you (and by all means, leave one there too, your voice is needed). I am right in the bend of a Turning Point right now myself. It has taken months, if not years, so far and I'm anticipating a long haul ahead, but when I look back, I see progress. It's slow, no doubt. It has taken every strand of courage, hope and strength I can muster to turn this ship into the darkness ahead, but I feel a smooth direction forming now and it's all encompassing, affecting literally every facet of my life and every relationship, no matter how casual or dear. Everything and everyone in my life is coming along for the ride, whether they know it or not. While it's true that I've had to let go of situations in order to move ahead, the impact of every situation, every person I've encountered goes along with me. It would seem that most or all of us are at some stage or another of a turning point at any given time. Perhaps you just came through one, maybe you're in the process of turning and you're having to keep both hands on the wheel and really hold on just to keep control of the vessel that is your life. Or maybe you see one coming waaaay up there on the horizon and you're sort of enjoying the calm before the storm.
Wherever you are in your turning, stop and look around. Give yourself credit for the journey behind rather than punish yourself for not having made better time. Don't feel badly, whether you've overpacked or forgotten some crucial element that you ended up really missing after all. (Watch "The Accidental Tourist" for more.) You've done your best, even when your best wasn't good enough. And if you didn't, there's still time. This is no time for self-doubt, just self-reflection. You have to have faith in the fact that you can be trusted with the helm, that your skills and determination are all that are needed to make the journey. Trust those companions you encounter along the way, they ALL have a reason for manifesting in your life when and how they do, whether they are the grocery clerk or a wild egret along the river, passing acquaintance, coworker, your kids' friends. Every living being with whom you have contact has a mission in your life, however tiny. Each comes to us with a secret message, a clue to our cosmic adventure, even those who do not speak. That reminds me, when I take my kids in the woods, I sometimes say, "Shhhh, the trees are trying to tell you something and you're not listening." And then I realize ... the trees are listening to my kids. And I have to laugh. And listen too.
As my soulsister pointed out to me, "We're all doing the absolute best that we can." And for that, we all deserve a little extra time in getting there. She wanted me to pass that wisdom on to you all. And so there you go.
Love, Sophie
Send your questions, comments, insights, situations and problems to:
sophie (at) freakinasheville.com
