It has been a glorious weekend. Perfect warmth, perfect sun, a gentle breeze and blue sky. Though your list of ‘to-dos’ may be long like mine, I’m opting to write this blog outside. For me, this feels indulgent and somewhat difficult to cherish because my goals and all their sub-tasks are right in front of me … waiting. I feel compelled to ‘move forward’ and get on with these goals.

Perhaps you too are passionate and compelled by your dreams and the goals therein, and find yourself struggling with the sometimes sideways movement of your soul when the mind is so clearly focused on moving forward. Our culture considers ‘moving forward’ as progress – as success and achievement. Patience is a spiritual virtue which can be most difficult at these times.

So, what if our goals, or what is involved in our goals, fails to manifest enough for us and we just can’t seem to move forward? What can we do when the path forward is blocked by something beyond our control? What if we simply can’t move forward even if we want to and we try to push things along?

With an either/or mindset, we too often get caught in forward or backward thinking. If we aren’t going forward (for example, lawyer and legal delays, business plan not being implemented fast enough, children not grateful enough, health issue not changing quickly, etc), we may find ourselves using all our energy and creativity just preventing ourselves from going backward. As this push-pull conflict inside gains negative momentum, it can increase our feelings of frustration, unworthiness and a sense of failure.

But I invite you to ask different questions and consider different directions …

What if in this time of not moving forward, you spent your creativity and resources increasing your heart and soul esteem? What if, like a plant, you ‘grew up’ into the light, maturing your capacity to live your dream? What if you spent time growing your roots deeper to enhance your resilience in the face of difficulty? What if you ‘opened inward’ to those hurts hidden inside and compassionately brought healing and transformation to past traumas, freeing you to move gracefully and with ease? What if you travelled left from your present point of centre and explored what potential is left? What if you stepped right and noticed what is ‘right for you’?

All these directions provide movement for your heart and soul. Each direction offers the opportunity of expansion of consciousness, of peace, of awareness, for your heart and soul. Perhaps in this exploratory side journey or upward path, you will discover something more about your personal strength, your personal gifts, your potential network of resources that pushing forward would never offer you or would even be available to you.

If you are feeling stuck and unable to move forward, get a clear picture of what’s happening at your present centre point. Then look at what is happening in all the directions available. Now what do you notice? What is happening? What difference does what you notice make?

For support and guidance in moving forward on your journey, come and see me. Perhaps we need to assess what your actual centre looks like here and now. Then you can step out into a meaningful direction which truly does lead you to your wisdom … to your dream … and your peace.

Namaste,

Shirley Lynn