Momentum and Leaps of Faith

Are you looming on the edge of a big scary leap of faith into the unknown?

Here’s something I wrote in an email to one of my clients today breaking down some of their reported experience. Being in the midst of eclipse season, I have a feeling that much of the collective is going through similar things as well, and that this might be useful:

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that even things in your everyday life are becoming unsustainable without leaving your present circumstances. Often it is this very force of untenability that spurs us to make the leaps we are called to make, because without it, as you know, we might just stay in one place forever, because the gravitational pull of the status quo is so seductive. In a way I’m sure you can imagine, it’s almost mathematical – the buildup of potential energy that amasses within us at every point in which we ignore our bodies, put our inner voice on mute, swallow down yet another objection finally reaches the critical mass we need to decide that bursting through that final wall is not only necessary but inevitable if we are to live in way that doesn’t drive us mad.

It also doesn’t surprise me that the critical decision point is striking you as an iceberg up ahead, and I think it’s a suitable metaphor in that the closer you get to it, the more you realize just how large it actually is. This is also unfolding perfectly, because your body has been slowly adjusting to the idea the whole time, and to take in the full size of the decision at the outset might have scared you away from it. You have been slowly acclimating to it, and now that it seems to be approaching, all the last bits of information to be considered are clamoring for attention. This is a gift because you still have time to plan out how all these details are going to fit in to your overall course of action while you’re still in practice mode. I think this may also be why you’re seeking more alone time – you need space for your mind to run all the probability simulations.

So on the one hand you have your body urging you toward the break point, and on the other hand you have all these last-minute details coming up wanting your consideration before you move forward. Can you see how this might all be working in your favor, even if it’s a difficult and unpleasant process?

Even if you don’t manage to predict every last ricochet effect of your decision, your system is preparing you for what’s ahead, and that strikes me as a positive. Besides, you also know that the alternative to the iceberg is to stay on the ship, and you’ve already made the decision that that’s not what you want.”