“We seek not rest, but transformation. We are dancing through each other as doorways.” ~Marge Piercy
A funny thing happens to me around 5pm every day. I can have a very tough day around the office, so tough that I feel like just curling up in a ball and hiding until tomorrow. And then I take the elevator down to the ground floor, push open the door, and suddenly the lightness returns, the fatigue lifts, and I’m ready for hours of working on my personal projects, seeing friends, and being out and about in this wild city. I don’t need rest after a tough day in cube-ville. I need a change of scene that inspires a transformation of self.
You might be looking at the screen right now and considering a pity party on my behalf. “Poor Christa. She really needs to quit her job and just work for herself.” Yes, eventually I will have to work for myself and those wheels are greased and in motion. These things take time and planning, particularly in this tricky economy. Every day I am taking one more step toward that big new beginning. I have a feeling it’s going to happen far sooner than my long-term plan suggests, though I am learning great lessons along the journey that I know will be invaluable down the line.
The people we meet, the places we go, and the experiences we have are doorways to something new – sometimes a whole new beginning, sometimes just a slight realization that causes us to take in the world with a different perspective. We do not immediately know the impact of these learnings. We wonder why we have to be put through firestorms and discomfort, why we have to wrestle with uncertainty and dissatisfaction and disappointment. And here’s why: it is the learning we need now.
It can all be valuable if we take the time to assign the value. And yes, we assign the value to our trials. We are responsible for our own learning; we are responsible for our own transformation.
Christa Avampato 