Once again, we found ourselves in a tight spot, pressure closing in on us. We are suspended between two uncertainties: in limbo when we could go back home to Texas and unsettled over the coronavirus issue. Our waiting game had been met with setbacks after setbacks, delays, disappointments, doors shutting close before our faces.
Does this roadblock signal a change of course?
I don't mind going through change. It is good. It's important for our overall well-being. It's fun and exciting if you initiated for it to come but what if an unwelcome one finds you? How will you respond?
[photo source]
This may sound silly but I found my answer in a lobster's molting process. I was watching this video on Youtube about American lobsters when insight pinch it's way to my consciousness. (lol)
For lobsters to grow, they had to go through a process called molting, a shedding of their old shell to make room for the new. This must be done because its exoskeleton does not expand along with its tasty juicy meat -- I mean its soft body.
As a lobster increase in size, their once comfortable shell becomes tighter and tighter, constricting, cramped. It must go through the molting process else it would stay small, limited. This process is no joke, it makes them vulnerable to predators. To succeed, they must go hide in a rock somewhere or a safe place.
Also, the molting process isn't a one-time occurrence. They have to go through it over and over in their entire lifetime -- or until they get caught, cooked, and served on the menu. (lol)
It is discomfort that encourages a lobster to go through the change, it is also through discomfort we can become better than who we are yesterday so long as we know how to respond to it.
Transitions are uncomfortable. Treading the road to the unknown or a new path you haven't considered before is stressful. Who wants to leave the security of the familiar? Who enjoys going through tough times?
No one!
But change is necessary. As you go through it, you may feel vulnerable for taking the risk or feel exposed to other people's opinions and attacks. Would it be better to shut your mouth and hide your plans from people who don't really care?
The good news is, the transitory phase doesn't last, heck, even canned goods have expiry dates. But of course, this still depends on how long you want it to last.
If you feel the discomfort and pressure closing in on you, perhaps like in our current situation, this is a signal for you to break out from the old shell, old patterns, old chapter, and make room for the new.
I may not know how the process will look like in your situation but I truly believe you have what it takes to break free. Lobsters don't need to search for old carapace so it could accommodate their growing bodies, they already have it in them to create new ones. And so do you! Don't remain small.
