” We are dragged along by fate to that which we refuse to walk toward upright.”  Carl G. Jung.

I love this quote because I have found it to be so accurate: Spirit does indeed set up various situations and dramas  which challenge and stretch us  to become more than we believe ourselves to be.  In  other words, situations which force us, or require us, to expand beyond the limits of who we believe ourselves to be.   Before we are “dragged” into these situations  by fate, ( or Spirit, or our Soul)  however, we usually receive an invitation, a call, if you like, to step willingly outside of our comfort zone, into the new arena/environment. This call heralds the fact that Spirit  intends to provide us with the opportunity to bring about a further  psychological transformation,  or expansion of identity, within us.  

Finding the New Golden Nuggets of Self.

We  can only grow and evolve  by finding,  claiming,  and expressing, new aspects, abilities or strengths, and we can only find these  new golden nuggets of self  when we are placed in situations and environments which force  us to ”bring them forth” from deep within us, where they have lain unused and unacknowledged since childhood.    

 I have to own up to the fact that my initial response to one of these invitations to step out of my comfort zone has frequently been to reject it out of hand,  especially if it has involved me doing something physically demanding or testing. Yet, to refuse these “Calls To Adventure,” as it were,  is to refuse to embark on the next level of our Hero,  or Heroine’s,  Journey, which means we are  closing ourselves off from  the opportunity to grow, expand and evolve, into ever greater, more joyful, creative, powerful and enlightened, versions of our self. (You might want to Google Joseph Campbell’s, “The Hero’s Journey,” for more information on this.)  

When we don’t accept these  invitations willingly, at the time they are presented to us, then we  will be “dragged along by fate:”  pulled or pushed into a  situation or drama that  provides us with the oppunity to claim that which Spirit knows we possess as part of our identity, but which we ourselves are refusing to acknowledge, or recognise, as being part of our self.

Our  Journey Through Life . . .  

And that’s what our journey through life is really all about: discovering who we really and  truly are, not who and what our conditioning has led us to believe we are. We are already At-One with the Divine,  we are already Whole and Complete: we are everyone and everyone is us. Because of the illusion of separateness, however, we have to re-discover and experience this truth for ourselves. Our Journey to Enlightenment, therefore, can be understood as a journey in which we set about  re-claiming the missing/unacknowledged,  parts of our self. 

For example, if we believe our self to be cowardly in some particular way, then life - Spirit or  Fate  - will present us  with opportunities which allow us the opportunity to discover our innate, natural courage and bravery in this area. When we do, we then experience the joy and receive the  gift that the discovery of this previously unseen and unclaimed aspect of our self, brings to us and hence our life. For when we grow and expand, so does our life: we are able to experience things that were previously unavailable to us.

Sadly, the idea  that we are, or can be,  cowardly,  for example, is a grave mistake on our part, a faulty judgement we have made about ourselves, it isn’t a truth.  We can’t truly be lacking in anything because we are always Whole and Complete within ourselves.  Unfortunately, we  usually make these faulty judgements  about who we are in childhood,  usually because of something that was said to us,  or perhaps happened to us that frightened us badly. We then continued to believe in our own immature errors of judgement long after we became adults. 

It is these misperceptions and errors of judgement about ourselves that need correction.We don’t need to change who we are, we need only re-discover who we always have been and are now, if only we would see it. Which really means that our Journey to Enlightenment is about learning to see “truly,” and in particular, learning to see the truth about ourselves. The invitations we receive to go beyond our comfort zones, therefore, are the means  by which Spirit, or our Soul, can bring about a change in the way we perceive and experience ourselves. 

 . . . Is a Hero’s, or Heroine’s,  Journey.

As outlined in Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” we often refuse the first invitation  that comes to us to step outside of that which is familiar and comfortable. We  will, however, often accept the second invitation to do so. When we do accept it, the rewards of doing so, I have always found, far exceed the difficulties or discomfort  we  suffer by accepting the challenge.  Spirit always knows where Heaven is, our part is only to recognise that Spirit is always trying to lead  us - or push or pull us -  in a certain direction, and all we need to do is go there!

To illustrate,  a few years ago I was in the ancient medieval city of York having tea and scones, (or possibly cake) with two female friends. It was a lovely summer afternoon and we were  sitting in a  beautiful, stone-flagged courtyard attached  to one of the many medieval and/or  Tudor buildings in the city  that are now pubs and/or shops. We were planning future outings and jaunts, trying to think of new places and activities we might enjoy. One of my friends suggested going to the Lake District and walking around  the lake at Grasmere because it’s perimeter  is only about six miles and she said we could do it in about two hours.  (Incidentally, William Wordsworth, the poet,  lived at Dove Cottage in the village of Grasmere in the Nineteenth Century. He’s buried in the local churchyard, where, fittingly, there is a daffodil garden, in honour of his famous poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” )

I found the idea that I  could walk six miles around a lake  so incredibly laughable I couldn’t believe she was serious. Me? Walk six miles! Around a lake! Didn’t she realise who I was? Didn’t she get it that I was cerebral? And physically weak?That I didn’t do walking. At least, not the kind of walking where you needed proper walking boots! Our other friend also, in sympathy with me, scoffed and sputtered through her tea at the very suggestion. So, I declined the invitation, amid much joshing, teasing and hilarity that such a suggestion should even be voiced, much less considered. 

The Second Call to Adventure.

Six or seven months later, my friend repeated the invitation to go walking ( with proper boots and rucksacks!)  This time, to both of our surprise I agreed.  I think I realized I needed to stretch myself, not to mention the fact that I knew the exercise would do me a lot of good. Plus, I couldn’t ignore  the fact that I had shamefully neglected that side of life in favour of the spiritual and the intellectual for quite some time. I knew I  was out of balance.  

So, we began our walking adventures by walking nine to ten miles  along the coast one afternoon the next summer. I loved it, and felt a real sense of achievement that I had accomplished something I thought I couldn’t do. We did a couple of walks on the flat  and we ad a lot of fun. Then my friend suggested we go fell walking. Fells are barren, stony hills, populated only by sheep,  fell walkers, and fictional characters from Catherine Cookson’s romantic, historical novels.  My heart sank. Not another physical challenge, I thought.

Facing and Overcoming Our Fears.

At this new suggestion all my darkest fears rose to the surface. Did she not realise I had had a spine operation that made it doubly strenuous for me to walk up an incline? Any incline! Much less a fully fledged fell! Didn’t she realize I would collapse, half-way down - or up - a fell, and have to be air-lifted back to safety? Didn’t she realize I just wasn’t capable of doing something so incredibly hard as climbing  a steep fell without risking life and limb?!! Didn’t she realize I might be injured for life if I fell and hurt myself?

It probably sounds ridiculous to you that I would have such fears. Yet I did, and I only realized I was carrying such fear about my body and  physical capability - or lack of it - when it was suggested I ”boldly go” where I had never gone before.  

My feelings about this new  invitation was quite an eye opener for me, it shed a spotlight on a very uncomfortable, unhappy fact: that after my spine operation I had started to view myself as being physically fragile, vulnerable and lacking in physical power and strength.

Once I faced up to this fact I knew I needed  to overcome my fears and change the way I saw myself. At least, I had to try to do this. To cut a long story short, as they say, I did try, and  went from strength to strength, literally. We began with small challenges, ( small hills and fells) and gradually, we increased the height we climbed and the distance we covered on our walks.  It helped, of course, that our walks took place in the most beautiful surroundings, often in the Lake District, and on some days, it literally seemed as if we were walking in the Garden of Eden, it was so enchantingly beautiful.

I started to re-gain trust and confidence in my body, learning that it would “see me through” the climb and the walk. For me, this was a major achievement, and I now see, know and express myself,  as being quite a strong, fit person. Before I accepted the invitation to walk and climb, however, I had seen myself as physically vulnerable and fragile, so accepting the invitation to go beyond my comfort zone, I  gained not only  a new dimension to my identity,  but a whole new lease of life, because the walks have provided  me with untold joy and pleasure and continue to do so to this very day.

There was also an extra, unforeseen gift that emerged from the fell-walking and climbing: I grew closer to the Natural World and the Natural World grew closer to me.  Always a town, city, or urban woman - although I  adore my garden and tend it myself - I discovered the wider world of nature and promptly fell in love with it. But a  series of other-worldly experiences began in earnest on these walks and continue to this day, experiences which I will relate over time. 

So, listen out for the invitations that come your way to go beyond your comfort zone. Understand that they are your Calls to Adventure and just say, Yes! Yes! Yes!