A ruler and a pencil - these
two lovely tools were probably staples in your childhood school desk at some
point. If you found these two tools also
in your childhood home, they most likely also measured your yearly growth
spurts on a wall or door frame, from year to year.
If you are nodding yes to
this statement, you can probably still feel the ruler push down on the top of
your head as the penciled mark was made, where you were reassured you were
growing, and there was indeed, “progress.”
As adults, we have no
real measurement ‘tool’ for progress and growth other than some form of
‘reward’ system like a promotion, or ego-feeding kudos for feeling accomplished.
The most basic
self-evaluation measurement tool most people utilize these days is crossing
things off of a daily list to feel the sense of accomplishment, however there
is no ‘formal’ ritual designed to
acknowledge growing wisdom.
The truth is, when we’re
adults we are responsible for our own sense of progress, however most people
keep the blinders on and keep going without stopping for a beat to acknowledge
these ‘growth spurts.’
Ponder these growing
wisdom questions to see what YOU come up with:
- When was the last time you recognized you overcame an obstacle?
- How would you describe your problem-solving skills before the learning experience?
- In what ways would you say you have grown the most in times that tested your mettle?
- How would you approach a similar situation today with your acquired wisdom?
- Which ways would you say you have you changed and grown the most as a person in facing challenges?
It is only in quiet time
of reflection of looking back, do we see how much we have moved forward. This is probably the most obvious way we can
self-evaluate. Sometimes this moment may
surface when someone else is going through something that you have already been
through, and it is here you see just how much progress you have made from that
time.
If you are sitting in a
state of “being confused” – did you know that one of the best ways to
acknowledge your growing wisdom happens to be in the process of “finding the
light” beyond your confusion?
This is what I call
“lifting fog” and it is here you can discover your own growth.
Why “lifting fog?” If you have the power to see through the
fog’s existence to understand its greater purpose, you can appreciate the fact
that it was there as a way to give you an opportunity to recognize your own
growing wisdom to come out the other side of it to understand yourself
better. Here you can see how you
overcame the obstacle and how you chose to problem-solve the task at hand in
the moment or through a series of steps to deal with a challenge.
When our psyche is
muddied by the situation, we often do not see that solutions are sitting there
‘waiting to be discovered’ once we do not give energy to the fog, but rather
appreciate the fact we have the power to lift it from our state of confusion.
The process of doing this
Lovely Souls, is an accomplishment and enduring through it, you can grow
wisdom, because it is a learning opportunity to see how you would best approach
a situation. There is no failure in trying and not having the outcome you
desire, as it provides an opportunity to try again after a certain amount of
time has passed to be better prepared to attempt with what you learned from the
first try.
Too often, humans
say…”It’s not working” and give up, but what they sorely miss is the chance to
see how they can expand their own awareness and grow wisdom through the
experience by pulling out acquired wisdom from other growth experiences to
challenge themselves to create a new way to solve a problem.
- What can you do in a situation when you lack clarity because there is too much fog?
- You can try to lift the fog creatively with acquired wisdom and grow in the process
- You can wait out the fog and use it for a time of reflection
·
You
can note the ways you are growing through the fog, because the situation you
are most confused about is really about an opportunity to SEE who you are in
the process of being in it; and who you will become after you get through it.
The key here is to not
panic, and instead look at the internal links you have within yourself as an
opportunity to acknowledge and recognize your own wisdom that you have gained
through every situation prior that you did not have before.
Here you will see just
how temporary your situation is with the current challenge and you can chart
your own self-evaluation progress as it is happening to see how far you have
come with prior challenges.
This should be a
self-empowering moment rather than one of despair and fertile ground within to
grow even more wisdom!
Happy growing!
Namaste.
