Gardening these past few weeks has given me better insight into the circle of life. I have witnessed growth from a tiny seed to plants now bearing fruits. I think about the process. Growth only occurs after the seed goes through a full metamorphosis that leaves it looking nothing like a seed any longer. It becomes a completely new being when it transforms into the plant it was meant to be. It had to endure a difficult process of leaving the plant that produced the seed, going through a drying/dormant period before being placed beneath the soil in complete darkness to develop into the plant it was designed for. Then as life happens, it endures discomfort as its outer shell gives way to the plant springing up from inside of it. It grows upward towards the warmth of the sun, breaking through the soil and revealing the new growth. Emerging to become the plant it was always destined to become a beautiful flower or vegetable. Growing wasn't an easy or fast process. It was crucial to go through each step however to become what it was meant to be. As I admire my garden growing, I am reminded that none of my plants resisted or complained to me during this process. Oh how I wish I could silently embrace the painful lessons in life like my plants. Why must I feel everything so deeply?
Aging is helping me to understand that life is not quite as simple as a seed growing. As people we do not like discomfort. We will do whatever it takes to avoid pain at all costs. Got a headache? Take a pill. Boyfriend left you? Find another. Lost your job? You didn't like it anyway. We quickly move away from discomfort. We look away. We rationalize things we don't understand. We dismiss new ideas because change is uncomfortable. We find excuses for why we can't do things instead of challenging ourselves. In avoiding our discomfort we are doing ourselves a disservice for it is in stepping out of our comfort zones that we learn and grow. It is how God designed us. He gave us curiosity so we would want to understand things. He gave us our brains for reasoning and contemplation. He gave us untapped potential to make us able to achieve whatever we wanted. He gave us courage to attempt new things. He understood we are fearful of new things. He promised to never leave us and gave us strength. We prove our love for Him when we have faith in what will be. When we push through the discomfort believing in better things. Believing that God's got our backs. Today I promise to embrace any discomfort that may come my way. I will look for the lessons that it brings and give gratitude for the good things. Discomfort isn't fun, but what lies on the other side is so worthwhile, fruits of a life well lived.
How do you deal with discomfort? Do you avoid it whenever possible, or do you handle it with grace? What makes you uncomfortable and how do you handle it?
Share your thoughts below or tell your story of handling your discomfort.
Namaste.
