Tag Archives: Direction

Rug Pull

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Has life taken you on all kinds of unexpected adventures? Sometimes you get time to plan ahead and do what you can to make the distance. Other times you can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under your feet!

Some years ago we had a ‘rug pull’ moment. It was actually a months-long struggle that finally ended with a wham! We were on our rears, reeling to work out a) what had happened, and b) how we could possibly get back up after such a fall.

Although there were definitely some ‘angels’ along the way, beyond a few close family members offers of help were rare. It wasn’t that we didn’t try to explain at times, and I don’t think that people didn’t care, but they didn’t get it and we ran out of energy to try communicating. Survival was the goal.

I’d like to say that the ‘rug pull’ was followed by a swift regather and then we were back on our feet, jogging down the path of life as we knew it. Falling on our ends put a lot of things out of reach. We were in a different position. We couldn’t go back to how things had been – and I believe that this was no accident.

We were forced onto new things; to take a different direction in life.

Now, that new road, it was great, right? Actually, it was really hard and nearly fractured us from the inside out. Some days we wondered why we were doing what we were. We felt so far beyond our coping ability that often it was like we were existing, not living. But at least we were going somewhere, albeit slowly.

Although we tumbled down some crater-like potholes along the way, gradually (and I do mean gradually!) a new purpose was revealed, and it was exciting. What had seemed to be an end, proved to be a new beginning and eventually we were able to reflect back on the journey and see the good in it; even feel grateful for our unexpected diversion. Our vision for the future also grew so much larger than we’d ever thought it could be.

The fact is we all face rug pull days or seasons. Perhaps our story strikes a chord for you. Perhaps your world has been turned on its head and you don’t know what to do. Rug pull moments aren’t pretty. They bruise and shake us to the core. BUT if we do what we still can, have faith and hold on, gradually our world will find a new equilibrium. In time, doors will open and behind them we’ll find new purpose. Those doors might look like tiny mouse holes at first – maybe nothing like we expected them to look – but at the end of the long, dim, obstacle infested road, there will be an end. Actually, a new beginning.

No matter where you are in life, whether you’ve landed tail down or are soaring with eagles, pray, never give up, and never stop reaching forward. Even if it feels like you’ve completely lost your way, put one foot after the other until you see some light ahead – for every tunnel has an end. And that’s where the scary unknown gets exciting.

Post-rug pull we’ll never be the same again, but we’ll be facing a new landscape with untold possibilities. The future. Embrace it.

Which Way?

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Have you ever stopped in the midst of complete chaos and wondered which way’s up? Sometimes this fast pace can bring exhilaration, other times it’s more like trepidation!

During these moments, days or even lengthy periods when it feels as if our boat’s capsized, it can be really challenging to determine a suitable response. It can be like bumbling through fog, straining towards a shadow that seems a protected place to rest, only to find it’s shreds of rotten canvass caught up in a tree. Doubt can steal confidence and confusion can creep over us, such that a solution seems nearly impossible, and it can be tempting to wallow in our circumstances.

What to do?

I’m not sure why, but these contemplations puddled through my mind recently. Perhaps it was my state of post-trailer filming exhaustion (if you haven’t been following me on Facebook, you may have missed that some friends and I have been filming a book trailer); perhaps it was reflecting on the myriad of social convolutions being bandied about by the media; perhaps it was too much coffee near bedtime keeping me in a semi-lucid state well into the night. Whatever the cause, confusion stood out like a crippling enemy. It made me think of a ship lurching in heavy seas, where clouds cover the sky and there are no visible landmarks in sight.

In this day and age of GPS devices, there is the obvious benefit of being able to acquire one’s bearings without a view of celestial bodies – but how do we know if we have adequate seaway to best determine our response if we don’t have a suitable chart? And that’s where my thoughts stuck.

How do we focus on what we DO know – not the overwhelming uncertainty of what we don’t?

In life we can find our bearings a little easier than a ship on the ocean in the clutches of a storm. We are right where we’re at – and just a little thinking will determine fairly swiftly the nature of our position. (Whether this is pleasant thinking or not is another matter!) It may become swiftly apparent that we don’t have an adequate chart to find our way through the storm – or even a clear line of sight to guide us, but we can identify the things we do know. Lighthouses.

Such lighthouses could be something like finding a wise friend from whom we can seek advice. Support networks or belief systems we’ve previously shunned may also offer a lifeline. We could recognise self-behaviours that have let us down and determine to change them. Even choosing to get up and do each day can be a triumph for people who are in a very difficult place.

In each storm of life we need to find a lighthouse that outshines the height of the waves and fury of the wind. It may require numerous lighthouses and a lengthy voyage, but if we set our course by them, we can hasten our passage to a safe harbour.