In adversity you find new qualities

“Losing your way is oftentimes the only way to find something you did not know you were looking for.”

I found this quote saved on my phone, unfortunately I cannot recall where I read it. Reading it again it spoke to me and I thought I’d blog about the chord it struck.

When we know our way, we have a tendency to be on auto-pilot, navigating confidently along well trodden paths to destinations we perceive we know. It’s easy not to notice what is there along the way, and many paths may be open along the way that we do not even notice.

When you lose your way, it is entirely different. Our senses tend to be alight, noticing every little detail around us, alive to possibilities because we do not know where we are.

This can be a frightening, disorienting position to be in. In his beautiful poem For The Interim Time John O’Donohue calls it the liminal space, and notices that the path we used to get here has washed away, and the path before us has not yet become clear.

Here, in the poorly defined landscape, we may find many treasures, and we may not have known that they were desirable or even possible.  So often in adversity you find new qualities in yourself - strength, compassion, wisdom, humour - many things within can be obscured when we already know ‘the way.’

Feeling #lost can be a very isolating experience, it is not one that people always feel comfortable sharing with those around them. If you have a sense of disorientation, or uncertainty, working with a Psychotherapist may be helpful in grounding you as you find your rhythm and direction. If you’d like to explore this get in touch at fejrobinson@gmail.com.  I offer sessions in my consulting room in Darlington, or online for clients across the UK.