When things feel tight, it’s easy to panic or want to act in some way to ease the feeling of constriction, but sometimes our lives contract before they expand. We may be working hard on ourselves spiritually, performing good works in the world, following our dreams, but somehow still faced with constrictions of all kinds. They may be financial, emotional, or physical. We may even feel as if we’ve lost our connection to spirit. All of these challenges can leave us confused and discouraged by what appears to be a lack of progress. Sometimes we might also spin our wheels mentally, trying to understand why things are the way they are. However, there is nothing we need to do at this time other than to be patient and persevere, because sometimes this is the way life unfolds. We are experiencing the darkness before the dawn. Think of the caterpillar that is confined into a tiny cocoon before it grows wings and flies. Holding on to the awareness that we are processing the shift from one stage to another, the more we surrender to the experience, the more quickly we will move through the tightness into the opening on the other side. I liken this process to childbirth, because just like a baby making its way through the birth canal, we may feel squeezed and pushed and very uncomfortable, but if we remember that we are on our way to being born into a new reality, we find the strength to carry on. Just look to the natural world for inspiration and see that all beings surrender to the process of being born. In the center of our own hearts that surrender is a willingness to trust in the unknown as we make our way through the opening. We can then find peace within ourselves even as we endure the contractions.
Heart to Heart,
Rev. Addae