I had a full circle moment the other day. One that was genuine, long awaited, empowering and convicting. Yea…it was quite the moment.
It was a moment that made me realize, upon refection, that I had lived a good portion of my adult life in the form of arches.
Arches are typically an asset in many types of building. They offer an opportunity to distribute weight and endure an equal responsibility of bearing a burden.
Burdened Arches
However, for me, arches hold a different power. Picture if you will:
There is ascent, plateau and descent. There is the discovery, the climb, the observation and the slide. Following is the creation of yet another arch. And the cycle, cycles.
What it doesn’t do is make room for roots, for grounding or lasting growth.
It is a constant pattern of momentary clarity. It is a lasting grip, just out of reach. It is an excuse, that over time I have falsely named an instinct. It is up to me to break.
Abandoned Arches
The somewhat humorous part is that breaking this cycle, means actually creating a circle, breaking a the cycle, of breaking the cycle, if you will. It is up to me to create the bottom arch. The part of an experience, after the slide. After I lose my grip on what was, and am required to be face what is.
Cyclic Value
Face what is, and use that to muster the strength to ascend yet again. The difference is, this time I must ascend in the same surroundings, working to create the environment I desire. Holding on through the changes. Prioritizing with purpose, setting boundaries while offering grace to myself and others.
It is in building the bottom arch that we are convicted in commitment, grit, effort, and tears. We are also offered growth, possibility and sometimes even victories. it is here that we can and/or must engage the call to outlast the rub, heal the wounds, go beyond the self-imposed limits and offer mercy to those stuck in their own arches.
