"Going to have to go through it."

“Going on a bear hunt. Going to catch a big one. I’m not afraid. What’s that up ahead? It’s a forest. A deep, dark forest. Can’t go over it. Can’t go under it. Can’t go around it. Going to have to go through it.”

Here is a light reflection for this week's post, and still, something to ponder. Such is the beauty of analogy and drawing connections.

In years past I was steeped in the world of early childhood and school-aged child education and development. I’m not sure how many times I’ve read/chanted/sung those well-known phrases aloud. Certainly, more than I can count and enough to carve a permanent groove in my memory. Luckily, for my precious memory space, I find simple parallels like this to be illuminating for life’s challenges.

The idea of persisting through a challenge has come up a lot recently, as I’ve navigated my own challenges, and sat in conversation with people of late to sift through what it means to work through a challenge. A short list of what it takes might include attention to one's senses and intuition, presence, reflection, navigation skills, discernment, self-trust, commitment, and persistence. There are days when we aren’t afraid, and we face the forest head on. We're even joyful, or in fascinated wonderment or exhilarated by the challenge. Other days, we may be quite tempted to turn back and just go around it. Maybe there are too many scary unknowns in the dark, or the brush is just too thick to move through.

What might we be missing out on when we go around it? Therein lies the mystery. What gifts or opportunities lie waiting in the forest, or on the other side of that challenge, if we are willing to go through it?

Whether it is a determination you made for a recent resolution, a goal in mind that keeps presenting itself as a challenge, or something you’ve wanted for a long time that resurfaces or calls your attention because it gets sent to the backburner; simple parallels learned in childhood can be powerful reminders of who we are in our adult pursuits. Are you going over, under, around, or through?