i have to believe*

Sometimes our lives contract before they expand. We may be working hard on
ourselves spiritually, doing good in the world, following our dreams, and
wondering why we are still facing constrictions of all kinds—financial,
emotional, physical. Perhaps we even feel as if we’ve lost our spirituality
and are stuck in a dark room with no windows. We may be confused and
discouraged by what appears to be a lack of progress. But sometimes this is
the way things work. Like a caterpillar that confines itself to a tiny
cocoon before it grows wings and flies, we are experiencing the darkness
before the dawn.

When things feel tight, it’s easy to panic or want to act in some way to
ease the feeling of constriction. We might also spin our wheels mentally,
trying to understand why things are the way they are. However, there is
nothing we need to do at this time other than to be patient and
persevering. We can cling to the awareness that we are processing the shift
from one stage to another, and the more we surrender to the experience, the
more quickly we will move through the tightness into the opening on th
other side. Just like a baby making its way down the birth canal, we may
feel squeezed and pushed and very uncomfortable, but if we remember that we
are on our way to being born into a new reality, we will find the strength
to carry on.

Even as we endure the contractions, we can find peace within ourselves if
we remember to trust the universe. We can look to the natural world for
inspiration as we see that all beings surrender to the process of being
born. In that surrender, and in the center of our own hearts, is a
willingness to trust in the unknown as we make our way through the opening.