Small Steps to Well-Being

Hi, friends. I need to admit that, for the last little while, I have felt stuck and even sometimes like I'm moving backward on my journey toward healing and true well-being. I have been struggling from time to time to show up and do battle with the untamed parts of my mind and have not always been able to convince myself that the things I want to be true about myself can ever be realized. For a while, I felt like I was making big strides in the direction I wanted to go, but then it seemed the scenery stopped changing noticeably and I had to ask myself if I was still even moving forward. Progress became a thing so small, I felt I was having trouble measuring it and was tempted to stop even trying to do so. Big strides in personal growth feel like progress and accomplishment, but the minutia of thought work feels more like a standstill sometimes.

It's like when you're building a house. All the concrete-pouring and framing and cabinets and doors are fun to watch because you can clearly see the house coming together before your eyes. House building becomes tedious, though, when you get to things like electricity and plumbing and insulation. You can't see the daily progress and you wonder what on earth is taking so long. It gets more tedious still, in my opinion, when you have to think about things like hinges and door stops and outlet covers. Things that, while technically visible, are just pretty boring and seem annoying to have to put brain cycles on. But, the truth is, none of us would much enjoy living in a house without electricity and plumbing, even if it had gorgeous walls and doors. And all those other little things certainly serve important purposes and truly make the house livable. 

Apparently this week the Universe has made a mission out of reminding me that I am still making progress even when it's hard to see or feel. That, in fact, the small stuff is THE stuff. Those small steps are everything. As Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, put it, "Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing." My well-being, and yours, is no small thing. Let's keep taking however many small steps it takes to arrive at well-being, even when they feel tedious or we can't really see progress. Eventually, we will surprise and delight ourselves by the lives we've been able to create simply by putting one foot in front of the other.  

Here were some other beautiful reminders from the week: