I was struck by this quote that I came across this week. I tried finding out who the author is/was so I could give credit to this person but was unsuccessful. Author unknown - allows each of us to have creative latitude with this quote as we own it in our own unique way through our own unique journeys.
"I'm thankful for my struggle, because without it
I wouldn't have stumbled across my strength" (Author Unknown)
It does not cease to amaze me how as human beings we will do whatever we can to avoid "our struggles". The contradiction here is that we were born through struggle. Every contraction was precipitated by pain, a commitment to focus and a will to push through the pain while cooperating with the contraction. Any woman who has given birth knows that resisting the contraction can result in compromising the life and health of both the baby and the mother. When we cooperate with the contraction it makes for safer and healthier outcomes for mom and baby. To cooperate with the contraction means to embrace the pain in a way that allows your body to do what it was created to do - to bring forth new life. Thankfulness is much like cooperation in that they both require that we embrace what we need to embrace when we need to embrace it, so that we can shift from where we are to where we need to be.
Often times we get trapped in the pain of our struggle so much so that we lose sight of the new life which is before us. During delivery a woman will often lose focus during the "transition phase" of delivery where she will want to give up, where she will say to her partner how much she needs him one minute and chase him out the room the next. The pain in the process seems unbearable and just when she thinks she has no more strength she is told to breathe and push one last time. In an instance the atmosphere shifts from tension, hopelessness and fear, to hope, joy and celebration the second the baby's cry is heard.
You will never know what you are capable of if you constantly resist your struggle. Struggle is a life contraction that is designed to bring you into a new place. The more you resist it the harder life will be. You will not only compromise your strength but the new life you incubate. Embrace the struggle in a way that will allow your body, mind and spirit to enter this new place that is designed to reveal your strength, bring you joy and fulfillment, and allow you to experience new life - a new way of living. Go on then - that thing that you have been resisting give it a big embrace, welcome its challenge, cooperate with the pressure of formation that accompanies it and see the new you emerge in a new place...so many opportunities await you there :)
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