THE PARADOX OF PROGRESS

 

Sometimes, as I move forward, I lose my way… I forget who I am, where I’m going and what’s important… I become consumed by the old and familiar habits and patterns, and before I know it, I’m guilty of the very things I am trying to leave behind…

 

Why does my past taunt me in this way?… Why do I, time and time again, relapse back into the arms of that which most deceives and hurts me?… The more I walk this path, the more I have come to understand that there is benefit in everything… A relapse is not a reason for desperation and despair…

 

In fact, in so many instances, it is my relapse that provides the clue, the insight into what needs to change… Progress rarely moves in a nice, neat, orderly fashion… It is often a winding path, which has many peaks and troughs, and each bit of the journey has something to teach me… In fact, I usually learn the most from the times I spend in the troughs, or when I find myself caught in a bend, when I cannot see what is around the next corner…

 

It is in these moments that my greatest lessons are often learnt… This is why I must not allow myself to lose heart, when I feel that life is conspiring against me… More often than not, life is preparing to open my eyes further, so that I might see that which I have not yet fully understood… From now on, I will treat the troughs as though they are just as important as the peaks…

 

I will remember that the blind bend invites me to be more patient, cautious and reflective, and that progress comes in many forms… And paradox is the most common of these… So, I will not lose heart, because I now better understand what seem to be life’s contradictions… Its many twists and turns are in fact the lamps that illuminate my path…