When you are in the midst of a challenge, overcoming it feels like you are facing a headwind. There is resistance. You have to put your head down and persist. It feels like an uphill battle, gale force winds in your face, fog so thick you can hardly see what is in front of you. You push onward.
The headwind requires more energy. You fight the forces that are seemingly head-on. It leaves so little time to think or do other things. You question why. But in the resistance, you build strength.
In these moments, it helps to take that space between breaths, between the raindrops, between heartbeats, contemplate and give thanks. Nothing lasts forever.
When you have momentum, it is like a tailwind, propelling you farther faster with ease. You have your head up and enjoy the view; you breathe easier and have the time to think of new ideas. You are a feather in the gentle breeze as it kindly keeps you aloft.
The tailwind gust lifts and carries you across the great sky. You use less energy, there is no need to fight the elements, you do not question where you are or why. Life is lighter, simpler, and you feel a sense of ease and well-being. Things make total sense.
In these moments, it helps to take that space between breaths, between the raindrops, between heartbeats, contemplate and give thanks. Nothing lasts forever.
There are lessons within these phases of life that serve a larger purpose: you are growing, evolving, transmuting; you have been given a gift.
Embrace your metamorphosis. It is in these times you can be grateful to be alive. If your life has no problems, you're not really living. Even a flowing river has rocks and waterfalls.
One day, things change. You get that call, you meet that person, your heart feels lighter and you see clearly. The clouds separate and the rain in your face slows to a slight drizzle. You see the view, it is vast and spectacular. Although you persisted uphill in the dark, you realize that it all led to a breathtaking vista. You radiate the glow of transformation.
Overcoming these demanding periods are the bedrock of self-esteem.
One day things change again, something triggers you, you receive bad news, you get furloughed, you find out someone is sick, nothing goes right, things seem to go off the rails. Your downhill coast becomes a sudden stop. You begin the dreaded walk uphill.
In each case, the key is to remember when you had it the other way. When it’s bad, remember when it was good, know it will turn around. When it’s good, remember when it wasn’t, and do your best to keep that momentum.
To create meaningful results in your life, you must be able to learn from adversity.
No human being is immune from experiencing these winds. Each is an impetus for change, and one would be wise to remain conscious of what phase to which they currently see themselves. It serves us to bounce out of our own movie and just observe.
Go outside of the story of what is and decide firmly to allow what can be to be part of the script that you use to live your life. When the mind stops battling what is, you go beyond your own ego. That is where miracles happen.
Where do you feel challenged? Where do you feel the momentum?
You are either riding the wind or cutting through it.
The one certainty is that the wind will change.
Timing is everything.