Deep personal and spiritual growth work requires that we be willing to venture beyond our comfort zone.
When we wallow in our anger, fear, pride, denial or self-pity, it can be familiar and even oddly comforting. We may think we are safer this way, deeply defended in our mighty castle, fortified by walls that keep everyone at a distance. But this separation and isolation doesn’t acknowledge our hidden pain that waits to be healed, our underlying need that longs to be fulfilled, and the call of our soul that is beckoning us to follow.
We may reject our negativity, our fragility, our imperfection, but when we do so we reject our humanity. If we spend all of our time grasping for perfection or for bliss while avoiding the acknowledgment of our pain and negativity, Spirit will remain the ever elusive “other” that we can occasionally grasp but never quite hold on to. Life will remain that utopian ideal we can never fully reach.
We may try harder to keep that pain and negativity at bay, but it will inevitably creep in, affecting our relationships and our sense of peace and integrity. If we reject part of ourselves in our quest for wholeness and unity, we become caught in the vicious circle of the duality we are trying to free ourselves from. In other words, it doesn’t work.
Seriously. Take that in. It doesn’t work.
Fortunately, every so often in any lifetime we come to a crossroads, and we are presented with a choice. We can stay with what we know, stay in the comfortable, the familiar, the apparently safe, or we can venture out of our comfort zone, explorers without a map, in search of something we aren’t sure how or where to find.
It can be scary — we must forge our own path in the wilderness. We must trust in something greater than our limited ego to lead us.
In the words of Don Quixote, we must run where the brave dare not go….
What does the landscape of your life look like these days? Are you holed up in the castle, contemplating your next steps at a crossroads, or bravely running through the wilderness without a compass?
What next step are you being asked to take?
Of one thing I am certain….. we are not called to mediocrity in this life. We are called to embrace Love and Life with open arms and full hearts.
And while we have to walk a path that is uniquely our own, we are never alone. The Pathwork offers us a community where we can be supported and witnessed as we traverse this most precious of journeys. The spiritual support of those who have come before us guide us if we but stop and listen. They are like stars that guide the way in the darkness, if we remember to look up.
This past weekend we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first Pathwork Lecture. I’m so grateful for Eva’s willingness to say “yes” to giving her life to these teachings. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to embark on this quest myself, this challenge that requires everything I have in order to live authentically and fully. Even on the days when I choose the safety of my castle, I know I have the choice. I know the adventure I am called to. And I know it is a call I will answer.
Won’t you join me?
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That’s really beautiful Beth! Inspiring and profound. Thank you!
You are so welcome! Thanks for reading and sharing this journey with me!
I needed to read this today. Thank you, Beth. Life is even more uncertain for me these days and I need to remember to stay with the pain and discomfort and not push away parts of me I’d rather not own. Life is even more uncertain than ever with what’s happening at the border and in my life.
Thanks for sharing, Pauline. I think about you often at the border. You are a brave, compassionate soul and I really admire what you are doing.