We Hold The Key To Growth

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains; And we never even know we have the key. ~ Already Gone by the EaglesSometimes feelings get stuck. We feel them, but we don't know what to do with them. Sometimes it's because we think we can ignore them or we attempt to press them down. We may think we'll feel better if we don't feel them, so we try to push them away. But feelings won't be ignored; like a weed, they'll come up somewhere else. In my own life, I've found that I spend more energy ignoring or hiding from emotions than it takes to simply walk through them. I remember working with someone who had a huge difficulty to conquer, much like a rock in her path. She spent much more energy trying to go around it, dig under it, and push it out of the way. I suggested instead that she just go through it, destroying its power as she climbed over it and continue down her path. I'm inspired today in the garden by a little flower called a lobelia. The flowers are as tiny as the head of a pencil and they grow on a tiny vine. I planted them around the edge of a wall to fill in the gaps that the marigolds don't. As they grow, there's no room for the lobelia to spread out in the rich dirt toward the fountain, so they grow toward the wall. When they reach the wall barrier, they gracefully grow over the top and hang down the side. They don't let something as minor as a wall, stop them. They fill in the gaps, and create a stunning purple mist framing and showcasing the dazzling orange and yellows of the marigolds. Each one of us has the same potential when we hit a wall. We can lament. We can give up. Or we can climb over the wall and showcase a life experience. It takes great courage to feel feelings. They can come upon you like a tidal wave, but they can also inspire us like the clean smell after a rain storm. I recently purchased a framed picture for a friend after a horrific loss that said, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain." What's your wall' And what's stopping you from climbing over it' -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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