If we choose to see our life as a wonderful opportunity for learning through the hardships and difficulties we face rather than just a series of inconvenient obstacles thrown in our path, we can, and will grow spiritually, mentally and emotionally. During this process we will find many undiscovered resources inside ourselves to help us in this journey called life.

I found poetry. Poetry enabled me to mould and shape those words that described my feelings and emotions and, in placing them on paper, fixed them for all time. I understood them, I had words for them, and from that day they never changed – they were taken from inside and placed outside. To remain where they were was to invite change, where they would be in a continual state of flux, where they wriggled and squirmed like a slippery animal always just out of reach. This incessant shifting prevented one grasping and holding on to them in order to deal with them. When I read those words now, written so many years ago, I still understand the meaning but no longer do I feel the rage and anger that prompted the original act of creation.

Nurturing these resources will assist us in many ways to tackle the tasks that we will continue to meet. Resources will surface that we never knew were inside of ourselves just waiting to come to our aid. The more resources we have at our disposal, the easier it becomes to deal with what comes to us. To repeat what was mentioned earlier go through instead of around. Going around a perceived inconvenient obstacle is always a much longer and lonelier journey. Going through takes much less time but has the distinct advantage that it is far more rewarding.