Discouragement
WARNING: The answers you’re looking for may not be found here…
I currently find myself in a space of deep discouragement. Like wading through thick molasses in nothing but my skivvies, step by step, trying to pull myself out of the mire but getting nowhere. Full transparency, I’ve been experiencing pain in my body for the past two years and haven’t slept properly for the same two years. I’m exhausted, worn out, and sometimes I’d rather give up than keep moving forward.
I tell you this because I know many people experiencing things just as hard and much harder. The point? We all experience discouragement that makes us want to give up, stop crawling forward, and weep on the floor until it all fades away to nothingness. So how then, when discouragement is sucking the life out of us and pushing us to disengage, do we live fully present?
The truth is that I don’t have a good answer to that question. I can’t tell you how to make everything calm, peaceful, and painless. I don’t know the best way to carefully thread the path that’s littered with discouraging pitfalls. But I can tell you that I think navigating the challenging, discouraging parts of life as fully present as possible is worth it.
It’s worth it because I am worth it. It’s worth it because you are worth it. We’re worth the time, energy, and presence of mind it requires to forge ahead.
Sometimes forging ahead looks like laying down in the middle of the path of life for a nap with your favourite, fuzzy bunny blanket; putting on your yellow wellies to splash in the puddles filling the potholes of the questionably paved road; having a good cry with a friend while you dangle your feet over the edge of a steep precipice; catching yourself doom scrolling and instead calling someone you love to reengaging with your journey… It could look like almost anything - as long as its movement: forward or backward - side to side - it doesn’t matter. You’re forging ahead even if the path is a bit wobbly.
And it’s worth it because it means you’re alive and admitting you’re not perfect, and you don’t have it all figured out, and it hurts, but you’re here and you’re going to make it.
Journey Prompt
What’s the primary source of discouragement you’re facing right now?
How does that discouragement manifest itself in your day-to-day life?
What is the discouragement trying to protect you from?
What’s one action you can take, this week, to pause and feel your worth?
If you’re not dealing with discouragement right now, save these prompts for later.
