This too shall pass; don’t worry, everything changes. I often find myself repeating these phrases when I get into a rut. Sometimes you just can’t push the river, you’ve got to go at its pace. Unless of course, you like struggling and going upstream. I used to be an upstream traveler myself. I use to hike mountains (the big ones) as fast as I could. It was all about the time. I barely took the time to look back, see how far I’d come, take a break, eat a snack, or marvel at the views below. And, it was fun, I did get “high” with endorphins and burn a ton of calories, but at the end of the day, I am sad to say, I do not remember much of the journey. Sure, I took photos, but sometimes I look at them and can’t even remember which mountain that was!
Well, life certainly has a way of slowing us down if we don’t do it ourselves, sooner or later. And, I think there is a kind of “Divine Plan” occurring in all our “setbacks.” Because, once you do learn to slow down, your whole body takes a sigh of relief. And all of a sudden it’s okay not to be so competitive, so perfectionist, so… striving for “good enough.” When you are ill, for example, you simply have to accept where you are and what you can and cannot do. Humility can finally surface, and you can finally soften.
Some phases take longer than others to get out of, and some cause us to change our lifestyle and perhaps let go of some of our passions. But this, I have learned, does not have to be depressing. It can be viewed as an opportunity for new growth in different areas that you are capable of doing now. Yes, you’ll have to put your thinking cap on, and you’ll have to accept not being “good” at something while you are attempting a new endeavor, but it will be worth it. Just because one chapter ends doesn’t mean the whole book does.