(Estimated reading time 2 minutes)

I’d like to skip the messy middle please…as if you could order your life up like you do your favourite entrée. The middle of things is the part where nothing is settled. It’s the part where you’re still figuring it all out. Its a bit messy. It’s quite hard work and its definitely not a tourist destination. In Chapter 2 of Rising Strong Brene Brown describes it like this:

“…its a nonnegotiable part of the process. Experience and success don’t give you easy passage through the middle space of struggle. They only grant you a little grace, a grace that whispers, “This is part of the process. Stay the course”. Experience doesn’t create even a single spark of light in the darkness of the middle space. It only instills in you a little bit of faith in your ability to navigate the dark. The middle is messy, but it’s also where the magic happens.”

So, I’m walking into my current messy middle, as Brene writes “too far in to turn around and not close enough to the end to see the light”. I’m hoping at some point to experience the magic, the understanding, the transformation. Past experience tells me that if I go forward armed with courage and a willingness to be honest, I will.

By the way, if you haven’t read Brene Brown’s Rising Strong yet, I highly recommend it.

Here’s to living with clarity, courage, compassion and confidence!