Stepping Stones
I was talking with a new friend, telling her a little about my windy career path and about some big dreams I am pondering for the future.
“ Wow, I am so linear.” she said to me.
“ NO WAY!” I told her. “ I bet we can find some twists and turns, let’s see…”
And then we had a 20 minute chat about how she got to DC and what brought her to this moment in time. It was so fun to hear her story AND to see her light up as she started to put some of this together for herself. It was invigorating!
In most of our LOLA circles, this concept of stepping stones eventually comes up. This is not a difficult concept at all, but basically a way to look at all of the ways that led you on the path to exactly where you are now. And honor it.
I like to look at:
people who helped along the way- the teacher who gave you a book, the friend who shared a podcast, the parent who opened a door.
situations that I thought were going one way and ended up another- the position I did not get, the NO that hurt, the relationship that ended. usually, after some time, I can find a reason why. Not in the “ everything happens for a reason” way but more of a “ that’s an interesting twist in the plot” kind of way. Since we are all still in the middle of our stories, or maybe the end, and we don’t know that yet- zooming out to see how one thing leads to another and another has been a powerful path to trusting my intuition, guides and whatever larger power is working behind the scenes.
how one thing, can change everything- there are so many little moments of shift that have occurred, where the thought or action shifted so much in my inner and outer life. For example, when I heard “ stop drinking” on the highway driving home from PA one summer day. The sobriety that I faced for 10 months and a number of energetic and relationships that changed as a result, I could never have known how that was all going to unfold.
So, what are the stepping stones in your own life? What brought you here, right now, to these words? You can take your journal and either list or mind map or draw the stones and identify/ label the pieces involved. Recently, I was thinking about what led me to this particular Ayurveda teacher I was studying with- so I mapped out all my yoga/ health/ ayurveda/ spiritual trainings, groups and teachers. That was fascinating to see 20 years of studies, one leading to another and another and all the variations and lineages I have interacted with.
You could also do this with friendships, career paths, personal interests, milestones in your own life, etc. Make it visual, creative and unique to you!
Feel free to share with me at pleasance@lilomm.com *** I love hearing from you!
