Growth Or Comfort?

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 “In any given moment we have two options:  to step forward into growth or back into safety.”  Abraham Maslow

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Tempting. Alluring. It is misleadingly simple to stay grounded in that zone of comfort and routine; to get out of bed knowing that what I am doing is something I’ve done for a long time and it’s familiar can be dangerously overpowering. And yet, I’ve reached a stage when I’ve realised it no longer fills my cup; it is not easy, rather painful to accept the fact that with each passing day my soul crumbles and reduces itself to a desperate call for something new, something that will help me feel alive and aligned. As the sun rises with the ticking tock of a determined clock and the moon dazzles me bright in the wise night sky with its certain truth, I am fully aware of the decisions I am committing to; the desire to break free from a draining, soul-consuming rhythm in my work life that, although rewarding and enjoyable at times, does no longer align with the rhythm that my soul craves and the values I wish to more fully embrace and bring to life in my sweet, wild, wonderful existence.

In time we learn. In time we morph. In time we choose again. 

Scary and daunting it can be; to jump, to take the leap, to venture into unprecedented choices in the life I’ve led until now; a life conforming to a system I neither agree with nor respect any longer for I have seen the dark shadows that inhabit its walls; a system I joined a few years ago because it had been a dream of mine. But, dreams change. We evolve. We expand into our new truths. 

There comes an undeniably clear time when enough is enough, when our mind and spirit keep guiding us to have the courage to choose again, to be brave and live our lives aligned with our gifts and our desires; a time when our bodies keep showing us how the conflicting identity between what we do and what we crave to do can damage us emotionally, physically and spiritually. Change is scary but what is most terrifying is to stay fixed when we are actually meant to flow and shift and morph; that is the nature of human life (and, well, nature itself!)

Of course, we fear this change. At points, we feel it’s unfathomable to wave goodbye to something we’ve done or known for longer than ideal for our evolution (and sanity) but that’s the point: it’s been too long and it is time to step forward into growth. Fear will point us in the right direction for it is that overwhelming fear that nudges us to take the steps towards what we know will bring undeniable joy and a sense of pride; pride that we’ve taken the leap and embraced the new dreams. I know It’ll be terrifying and the closer I get to that leap day -when I’ve officially decided to no longer belong to a particular environment and to create a new reality for myself- the more I might feel tempted to step back into ‘safety’, back into the known reality, the routine I’ve known for longer that my soul could healthily tolerate. So, with maybe a shaky hand but fire in my heart, I’ll take the right next step for me; in that moment, I will breathe deeply and proudly smile for I will have taken the step I’d been dreaming of for a long, overdue time. I will step forward into growth. I’ll step forward into my light.  

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