23. The Only Way Through, Is Through

Our western world is good at fixing things. If there’s a problem, let’s solve it! There’s an app for that! There’s something you can buy on amazon for that! And not only that… it can come to you in a day or two! We are not really comfortable with the harder path or the longer path. We are about quick fixes and easy solutions.

But sometimes the only way through is through. Labor is one of the most truest places for this lesson. There’s no getting around it. The baby has to come. Yes, there are ways to help labor and to help mama and baby get through it quicker or maybe with less pain, but really… it’s all a labor and process. There isn’t a work around. Quite literally, the only way through is through!

There have been times in my life where I was in a bit of a luminal space - not where I was, but not yet where I wanted to be. And when you’re in those life places, you really can’t speed up the process. I have found that it just takes living and time and space to move through those periods. It’s one of those things where the journey is the most important. The labor, the getting through…. that’s where formation, learning (and unlearning) and growth happen. The caterpillar can't skip over the cocoon process. The only way through to becoming a butterfly is first the process of cocooning, becoming goo essentially, and reforming into its next phase.

And… sometimes that’s not comfortable for us. We might rather just skip to the good part! We are not comfortable with waiting, with wondering, with questions, with heartache, sometimes we just want the answers! And… the answers come from the questions.

So… lesson number 23. The Only Way Through, Is Through. We have to be brave enough to go through the tough times, the forming times, the unknown times, the painful times, to form, to grow, to give birth to what’s next. You can do it!

Reflection:

• When has been a time you rushed a process because you didn’t want to wait? How did that go for you? Do you wish you’d waited?

• When did you really live into the process and the journey? What came from that experience?