The glass path - surviving suffering.

Roots break rock in search of water, animals adapt as both predator and prey for survival and we do all we can to build, maintain and pass on what we have before we take our last breath, speak our last word and think our last thought. Life can be complicated and a constant struggle to create stability in a universe possessing a singular interest of constant change. What we build is open to destruction, the knowledge we now possess becomes ignorance tomorrow and that which we believe to be solid can be torn away, smashed and razed to the ground. In this instant we are gone, the shards of who we were, shattered at the foot of where we once stood.

Broken and disorientated, we stare at what was until moments ago, our life. Here an opportunity has arisen that is greater than when we opened our eyes for the first time. This is not an end, but a beginning. Like cold water splashed on a sleepy face, we are now awake, and we are aware. The mess that lays scattered on the floor wasn't us, but the things we attributed to who we were. It is now potential; a treasure trove of experience to reclaim and useless fragments to discard. It isn't a jigsaw puzzle to put back together but tools and materials with which to innovate and create. Like musical notes with endless compositional options, we are now capable to be the composer of our own experience. The tune played is ours and ours alone.

We are free. Free to add and subtract or reshape the pieces to both suit our current requirements and factor in the needs of our upcoming journey. We may not know what the future holds but we are open to choose the direction in which we stride forward. By investigating the pieces of our past, we can develop an action plan and take the first steps towards building our new life.

We have all felt destroyed, lost, betrayed and beaten. Periods when the pressure bearing upon us makes our knees buckle and our palms drop heavily to the ground just prior to the taste of dirt, as our arms fail to hold our weight. Our bodies have been burned by fire and ice and we have lost jobs, homes, friends and family. These are the times we now look upon with the most feeling, the times we developed and grew at our fastest. The moments that we don't remember for the pain but for the triumph of tightening our jaw and dragging ourselves to our feet with gritted teeth. Through all that suffering and despair we still chose to fight for a better experience.

Why? Because we are human. Defeat is fleeting and defiance in the face of adversity is our trademark. The glass path we walk cracks beneath our steps, splinters into new directions but will remain ever faithful to the universe; It will always seek change.

When we find ourselves in a difficult position, feeling tired or lost, we can think of the other occasions that we have made it through and take heart, because as we have proven time and time again - we have plenty of heart to give. Owner, employee, teacher, student, parent, child. Wherever we find ourselves, be thankful for what we have but understand that it is not who we are - we are much, much more.

I hope that if you have read this far it has helped you if needed, strengthened your resolve in what you plan to do, or taken some fear away from a possible failure.

Taraz