Our lives are full of ebbs and flows, full of new phases, adventures, and journeys. It's hard when we are in a particular phase of our life to notice these ebbs and flows, but when we look back in hindsight, we start to see this pattern emerge.
Ebbs and flows in our lives are manifested as periods of positivity and happiness and times of negativity and hardship, as well as everything between. These periods are not always equal in length either. One particularly happy phase in our lives might last for a week, while a depressing stage might last for five years. Unfortunately, when we are in a phase of our journey (which we are always in a phase at any given moment), we are unable to see this timeline. We do not know how long it will last.
This is why it is so critical to live in the moment, to enjoy all of life's ebbs and flows, even if they aren't always positive or happy. Regardless of what type of phase we are in, each stage of our lives teaches us so many crucial lessons that will help carry us into the next part of our journey. If we don't take the time to truly think through and understand what lessons we can learn from each part of our journey, we'll never truly be able to grow in wisdom.
We've all had times in our lives that we look back on and shudder. We also all have periods in our lives that we would go back to in a heartbeat.
But we can only truly be present in the stage we are in right now in this moment. Yes, we can take lessons from the past, but we can't dwell forever on our mistakes or the glory days. That only keeps us from experiencing everything we are meant to now. We also can't fear the future. Again, that only keeps us from experiencing everything we are meant to now.
What we are meant to experience now is clarity. Clarity of what we have been through, what we are going through, and what areas we still have yet to grow in and encounter. It's never fully clear, obviously, but through careful retrospection, we can start to piece together the ebbs and flows that have made up our lives.
And know this - if you are in a negative or depressing part of your journey, it can and WILL get better. Time, trust, prayer, and patience are what have always gotten me through difficult times. How else would've I survived 10 years of eating disorder, adrenal fatigue, and overtraining recovery? It gets better. It gets easier. It just takes time and a growth-centered mindset.
What ebb and flow are you experiencing right now?
xoxo Olivia
