Blog Alan Seale, Oct 7, 2019 | Courage
Some things are just hard. Whether it’s starting a conversation, or walking away from something important, or saying “No” when the pressure or expectation is to say “Yes,” or making a decision that could change everything. You keep turning it over and over in your heart and in your head. Maybe you talk about it with someone you trust. You might even know deep inside the step you need to take. And yet…
It’s a wonderful thing to have people we can count on for support during difficult times. However, for whatever reasons, sometimes we have to walk through what is happening on our own. When we’re on our own, it helps to at least have something to reassure us, something to give us strength and courage, something that keeps reminding us again and again, “You can do this.” Perhaps it is a photograph, an object, a poem, or a song – something that serves as a talisman to reconnect you with whatever you need in the moment.
Over the last year, the refrain of Carrie Newcomer’s song, “You Can Do This Hard Thing,” has become a powerful sound talisman for me.
You can do this hard thing.
You can do this hard thing.
It’s not easy, I know,
But I believe that it’s so,
You can do this hard thing.
These words and melody sing in my heart every day, reminding me that everything is doable. Whatever challenge may arise, I know that I can handle it. It’s all going to be OK. You can listen to the song on the YouTube video.
The Principle of Polarity from ancient wisdom teaching tells us that nothing can exist unless it’s opposite is also true. In our everyday lives, this principle means that the question cannot exist unless the answer is somewhere around us or within us. The challenge cannot exist unless the pathway forward is also present somewhere within the situation. The conflict cannot exist unless the process for resolution is available to us as well.
And so it is with your “hard thing.” If you have a “hard thing” in front of you, it means that somewhere within you or around you is also everything you need to be able to move forward. So pause, take a deep breath, and get quiet. Listen, sense, and feel. There is a message or guidance or a sign around you or within you to show you a next step. Give yourself space. The next step is all you have to take for now. After that step, the next one will show itself.
Going forward, keep breathing, pausing to listen, and staying present. You can do this hard thing.