life gives us speed bumps #keepgoing

This spring, it seems I’ve been hitting every speed bump and pothole possible in my path. Big decisions, hard conversations, and a neverending toothache the dentist can’t figure out. It’s all made for a bumpy ride and slowed me down. So it seems pretty perfect that I came across the poem below, which I wrote in early 2011.

Actually, I know it found me to deliver this reminder: Sometimes I forget that each rest stop, detour or distraction is part of the master plan. 

Oh, right! The starts and stops are not there to destroy my path, but to get me where I need to be with greater clarity, relief and gratitude. It’s like surviving another Minnesota winter; when the snow FINALLY clears and our breath stops appearing in front of us, we are so happy that we all-out rejoice. We feel like freaking gladiators, victorious after battling the deep freeze. Every orange-breasted robin, every blade of green grass, every chance to walk outside without bundling up feels like a little miracle.

That’s how it feels coming out of a deep freeze phase of my life. I feel victorious – stronger, wiser, grateful. I see purpose in the pain. My wings feel sturdier. That’s why this old poem found me; to help me ease my tension around the hard stuff by recognizing that it’s there to lead me to the good stuff. I love when a message from my old self finds its way to my current self in order to help me move toward my future self. Here’s hoping you’ll find something in it for your self, too…

how i follow my heart