Life happens, and happens, and happens again...I’ve heard it quoted that “we are either entering into a storm, in the midst of a storm, or coming out of a storm.” Life is full of storms - struggles, difficulties, changes, stress, trauma, transitions. These storms cause plot twists in the narrative of our lives.
We are living out our story one day to the next, then Plot Twist, a storm happens causing a need for revision of our story, a new edition without the presence of a beloved character and their involvement in our future. Sometimes the storm was a long time coming, other times we never saw it coming. Either way, shock causes us to freeze as we enter a state of unknown, which can be painful and destabilizing. We become uncertain of where our next steps were meant to be because the story we have been following one day to the next has been wiped away. It is no longer clear what our path looks like.
Sometimes we are responsible for our Plot Twist, like deciding to leave a job you’ve been working at for over 12 years. Wiping our own slate clean, intentionally changing our narrative. Maybe the Plot Twist is an addition to your family. Not all revisions to our story are sparked by a negative. They happen to us, for us, or by us. They are, in some ways, just life.
Life is growth. Consider the struggle the butterfly must endure coming out of the chrysalis - talk about a plot twist! - this struggle must happen so it can push the fluid out into its wings making them full and firm so it can fly. Is it any easier when we understand and accept that the discomfort is for growth? Is it easier to lean into that fear of the unknown, knowing that we will learn and expand our comfort zone? Learning is making the unknown known.
As Dory sings, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." We do have to keep moving, going, growing and learning. Do so in grace. Be gentle with yourself. No matter who was responsible for the plot twist, you get to pick up the pen and begin writing the next chapter, one sentence at a time, as you are ready. Allow that pen to be guided from within you. Find connection and write it from the heart.
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