PEBBLE
I think people who have had to work through really difficult things in their lives are often so much more capable of freedom and generosity than those who’ve had an easier time.
-Sr. Joan Gannon, written and shared by Joan in Albany, NY
BOULDER
One of the hardest things we can choose to practice is finding beauty within the more difficult and unravelling parts of life. It is not always possible, and there should be no pressure (we shouldn’t feel that we must find beauty in these things), but the relationship between beautiful and awful can be astonishing, and with some noticing and some tenderness, we can grow in expansive and thoughtful ways as we live through the awful. I’m talking about the beauty that never leaves, even within the confines of grief or illness or hardships too hard to name. When we are consumed–partially or wholly–by the dark, it may be that we need to squint or use a magnifying lens to see the small pins of light, but they are there.
-Ella Frances Sanders, shared by Sara in Madison, WI
PONDER
I’ve lately noticed a recurring theme in my work and also in my life: how to persist and grow through difficulty. Like pretty much every human I’ve encountered, the last few years have been significantly challenging. In addition to being really poopy, they’ve also provided significant opportunities for personal and professional transformation, just like a few other excrutiatingly difficult chapters in my life.
I don’t wish to live through them again, nor would I wish them on anyone else*. But you know what else? I also don’t spend time or energy wishing they hadn’t happened. Whether my resilient spirit persisted because of or despite these considerable challenges (there’s actually some debate about this), I know I made it through them and came out on the other side stronger and wiser.
Sometimes when I’m struggling, my best friend helps me search for growth opportunities by posing the question he picked up from life coach and personal growth guru Iyanla VanSant:
Is there a way to view this as a divine opportunity?
The question is usually yes, even in those times I’m not quite ready to embrace the effort that this perspective shift requires.
If you’re struggling today, or even if you’re processing previous struggles, just remember that you don’t have to like a Difficult Thing in order to recognize the Divine Opportunities that might be hidden within it.
Peace,
Paul
*P.S. I always squirm at the title of Andy Grammer’s upbeat anthem, Wish You Pain. But you know what else? It always lifts me up, and I agree with every line of the song.
