There’s a beautiful wet weather creek that flows through our property after a good rain (or melting snow). I love to watch the water wind around and make its path forward.
But sometimes it gets blocked with leaves and sticks, and everything stops.
One morning last week, I went out for a walk and found it completely clogged in a few sections. It was either trickling forward, or not
moving at all. Some parts were nothing but a dry creek bed.
In one of those empty places, looking at dirt when it should have been flowing water, I felt frustration, because I really love seeing and listening to the
running creek.
But the problem wasn’t there.
The problem
was upstream.
For every stuck spot, I found the culprit—piled-up leaves, branches, debris—all the stuff that had gradually built up over time and blocked the flow long before it reached the empty place I was
focused on.
I grabbed a stick and a large stone and tried to clear things out. Suddenly, the water began to move a little again. The more I cleared, the more it pushed through and started finding its path.
And I had one of those a-ha FTG moments ….
How often do we do this in our own lives?
We stare at the place where things feel stuck—where nothing is moving, where the
energy feels off, where we’re frustrated—and keep asking, What’s wrong right here? Why isn’t this working?
We look for solutions where we feel stuck. But the truth is, the blockage is rarely where the
real problem lies.
It’s usually somewhere back there—old habits, unresolved emotions, learned fears, limiting beliefs, past disappointments—things we never fully processed or released. That’s the life stuff that
slowly builds up and eventually stops the flow of new things trying to come into our lives.
If we really want things to move again, we have to be willing to go back and clear out the wreckage of the past.
And we need the right tools.
As I stood there that morning, trying to clear the creek with whatever I could find, I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t have what I needed. I made a little progress. The water started trickling through.
But what I really needed was a shovel, something better suited for the job. And that’s exactly how it is when we’re trying to clear the junk in our lives.
Sometimes we spend days, months, even years trying to move forward, but we’re attempting to make progress using the wrong tools. We’re distracting ourselves instead of actually clearing anything out. Or maybe we’re avoiding the deeper work, hoping time alone will fix it.
Real restoration is not always neat. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes it requires getting our hands dirty (watch my bonus video below). It’s work.
But the question is—how bad do we want things to shift? To flow again?
Side note: the wrong tools and a little bit of effort still made a difference. The water started moving. If a small effort can
create some flow, imagine what happens when we come back equipped, intentional, and ready to fully clear the path?
There’s one more piece of insight that came to me.
I could have kept walking, thinking, Maybe someone else will take care of the creek? My husband likes the creek—but he doesn’t LOVE it the way I do. If I had waited for him to clean it out, I might have been waiting a long time. I’m the
one who wanted to see it flow, so it’s on me.
And that’s a hard truth in personal growth: if something is on our hearts, it’s ours to tend to. Waiting for someone else to fix what’s holding us back usually doesn’t
work.
If we feel stuck, if we know deep down that there’s more for us, but it’s just not happening, that noticing is an invitation. And yes, it’s our responsibility to follow up on it.
Time to decide: Am I going to keep standing here, staring at the blockage? Or am I going to go upstream and do something about it?
We all have more in us than we think. We have the ability to take the first step, and it doesn’t have to be big.
It might be a conversation. A journal entry. A boundary. A decision. And it might begin in a moment of self-honesty.
Even if it’s just a
baby step, movement creates momentum. And momentum changes everything.
I don’t do much of anything meaningful without accountability. It keeps me consistent. It keeps me honest. It helps me follow through when motivation
fades.
If you don’t have that, find someone else who wants to see change in their lives, to accomplish something professionally, or maybe even to have more fun, like go on a big solo date, or solo trip. (Did you see
my newsletter about overcoming the fear to go to a big concert in Nashville by myself? See link below if you missed it.)
WRAPPING IT ALL UP
If you’re in a season where things feel blocked, stop staring at the problem and ask yourself:
What’s upstream that needs clearing?
What tools do I really need?
And who or what can help hold me accountable as I do the work?
You don’t have to do it perfectly. You just have to start.
Life is meant
to flow. It feels so much different than the non-flow. And when we feel stuck, that’s not a sign to give up—it’s a sign to pay attention. To go back and clear the path. To choose, again and again, to do the work that allows the water to move.
(Read more about flow in FTG, May 31, Find the Flow.)
I’ll get back down to the creek soon with a shovel and some real work gloves. The water will find its way again.
And so can our lives, whenever we are ready to do the work. It might even be easier than we think.
Want to see a video that goes with today's meditation? Check it out on YouTube.
Need a demonstration of courage to change the past? I've missed out on a
lot because I was afraid to do things by myself. Read more about a recent personal victory if you missed these:
Courage for the Scary Things Part One and
Finding the Gift Solo Part Two.
On that note, maybe you want to come to the beach with me and other ladies traveling "solo" to re-find and re-create our soul spark together at the beach?
Don't miss the retreat announcement below. The private invitation goes out tonight and there's only room for seven women plus me.
