Recently I was sharing within a spirituality group some frustrations I was having in one of my relationships.  The leader of this group gave some great input, and I came away inspired on how to proceed.  At the end, however, another person chimed in to suggest that I could just quit the challenging relationship.  Though their comment came from a place of compassion, it made me shout on the inside: “NO!”  Departure is not the track I am on here.

While there are some circumstances in which the healthiest action is to discontinue a particular association, friendship, or family tie, too often I see people walking away from what is simply an invitation to love more deeply, both ourselves and others.  Instead, I prefer the path that provokes me consider what is my part.  For me, that examination often leads to greater healing and growth than would be found if I were to just take the next exit.

I’ve learned that by doing the individual inner work required for my relationships to grow, there is a transformation in me that changes the way I offer love to another, and so follows that the dynamic of that relationship also changes, even if only a bit at a time.  I have in no way mastered this process, but I do see it as the evolutionary work of commitment.  Let us embrace the opportunities that invite us to an even greater experience of the connection upon which we human beings thrive.  May you be inspired!