Walking Through It
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It’s been said that better questions lead us naturally to better answers, and that it’s in not knowing that we open the doorway to knowing. I’m Scott Lennox and you’re listening to The Beautiful Question, a consideration of things that truly matter in a complex world.
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When we’re challenged or facing something larger than we’ve known before, we don’t just snap out of it or get over it. We walk through it, step by step.
Join me this week as we consider how to keep going as we take those necessary steps. Stay with me.
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When I drive past the billboard that says, “New Teeth In A Day!” I laugh out loud. Since the middle of last August, I’ve been going through the process of having full dental implants and will hopefully cross the finish line sometime late this summer. While it hasn’t been acutely painful, I can assure you it’s not for the faint-hearted. On the other hand, the results are completely worth every step I’ve taken. Thanks to the masterful work of Dr. William Runyon, I’m really enjoying smiling again and I’ll never have another cavity. There’s a bonus!
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On a regular basis, and with a strong sense of personal authority, I remind myself that “I’ve walked through far worse than this and come out on the other side.” In fact, I wonder how many things I’ve come through that I once believed were far beyond my ability to endure or survive.
The truth is, each of us is so much stronger than we tell ourselves. There’s a force in us that keeps us going.
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My own journey has shown me that whatever we’re facing or dealing with, we don’t just “get over it” or “snap out of it.” We walk through it step by step, and always at our own pace, until we come out the other side. There’s no avoiding it, there are no shortcuts, there’s no way around it, and nobody gets a free pass. It is what it is.
After I finished going through radiation on my head and neck twenty years ago, I experienced a level of exhaustion I’d never known before. I’d been a long-distance runner and was shocked at how weak and depleted I became. I had so little energy that when my friend Sam would pick me up to take me for what he called “an airing out” as we walked along the trail beside the Trinity River here in Fort Worth, I had to stop over and over to rest. Each time, we sat in silence on one of the many park benches until I could get going again and reach the next one.
Sam hadn’t gone through what I had, but he was wise in his counsel. He encouraged me to rest as I needed to and then keep moving at my own pace, and when I could, to stretch it out just a little. As I did, I very gradually regained my health, my strength, and my sense of myself as a whole human being.
The more I focused and the more patient I was with myself, the longer my walks became and the more my energy returned. As much as I wanted things to be otherwise, there was no way for me to speed the process. I had to go through all of it step-by-step and little-by-little. When I started, could barely imagine the outcome. But I did imagine it, and I kept telling myself, over and over, “I can do this!”
As I did, my imagined outcome of vibrant health and wellness and my ability to speak clearly again became real. I’m now living that reality.
Looking back, I can own the fact that I walked through every step of it—every single one. With persistence and focus, and the regular encouragement of good people like my friend Sam, and an ounce or two of courage and determination, I was able to keep going and build the life I have now.
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Today, I’m asking what it is that you’re facing and what you need to walk through it. And I’m wondering what small steps will help you turn your goals into reality. This week’s three Beautiful Questions are designed to help just that. As you use your inner resources and abilities, you’ll move through your life in increasingly elegant ways.
Take your time as you consider today’s questions.
Question One: What have you already walked through that once seemed impossible or too much for you to bear or endure? What have you accomplished that you thought you couldn’t?
Question Two: What things did you do to keep yourself focused and moving forward? What inner and outer resources did you put into motion to help you get where you are now?
Question Three: What focus, energy, and resources will help you move through the things you’re facing now? What will help you keep going, right now, as you reach your goals?
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After you’ve sat with these questions for a while, write and tell me where your considerations lead you and how you’ll be putting them into action. I’m listening.
As I say each week,
My Light with Your Light!
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Thank you for joining me in these podcasts as we keep doing the things we can to respond to life in increasingly effective ways. As always, I’m open to your comments and feedback.
You can be further inspired by visiting my friends at Kosmos Journal. That’s K O S M O S Journal. Their mission is to inform, inspire, and engage global transformation in harmony with all life. You can easily find them online at Kosmos Journal dot O R G.
And at thebeautifulquestion.com, you can read the illustrated transcript of each podcast as you listen. You’ll also find an archive of all previous podcasts, including episodes three and four, guided relaxation audios that can help you practice letting go on a daily basis.
If you find these podcasts useful, don’t hesitate to share them or tell others about them. That’s a great way of helping me get a voice of calm and collaboration and balance and encouragement out into the world.
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I’m Scott Lennox, and this has been The Beautiful Question.
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The Beautiful Question is a One Light production, written, produced, and engineered by Scott Lennox at HeartRock Studios in Fort Worth, Texas, as a way of paying forward to life, being fully present, becoming better engaged with things that truly matter in a complex world, and committing to a healthier future for all of us.