The Spiral of Life: Why Old Lessons Come Back Around

The last two weeks have been rather challenging for me. Something about this human journey, the spiral of life, the current energies on Earth and all that jazz.

It started so beautifully. I’d just spent five soul-nourishing, joyful days immersed in dance at Tribal Fest in the West, and then completed my Collective Soul Level Four certification. My cup was overflowing.

From there we headed south to the trees, where the roles reversed. I stepped into the role of supporting my love, Toni, as she worked behind the scenes of an international gravel bike race. The intention was simple: some rest and recuperation time.

The universe, it seems, had other plans.

When life throws curveballs

On the Saturday, something I ate most likely contained gluten. I’m highly intolerant, and I ended up very unwell. I’d only just started to recover when I had another gluten exposure. That was a week ago today, and I sit here still feeling rather unwell, with an achy tummy.

All the while, Toni’s grandma has been in hospital, momentarily out, and then back in again this week.

And today marks one year since we lost a dear friend, very suddenly and abruptly.

Not to mention the things happening within our wider community. It does make one stop and reflect.

I share this not for sympathy, or even a “me too”, but to show you my humanness. And to share a little of my perspective as I traverse this journey.

Life is a spiral, not an onion

People often talk about the onion, peeling back the layers. To me, life is a spiral. And when old lessons come back around, it doesn’t mean you’ve gone backwards. It means you’ve travelled deeper into the spiral.

The Spiral of Life: the idea that we begin on the outside of the spiral and keep travelling inward, each step bringing us closer and deeper into our core, our soul essence, our ultimate truth.

At any point along the way, we can come across a memory we thought we’d let go of. A lesson we thought we’d learnt. A person or situation we thought we’d forgiven. And there it is again, surfacing.

But each time we meet it, we’re further along the spiral, and we bring a new layer of wisdom and knowledge with us. It may still hurt, but hopefully it hurts a little less. Hopefully it holds less charge. And maybe we can see the lesson from a new and different perspective.

The deeper we go, the clearer our joy

Here’s the beautiful thing about travelling the spiral. As we connect deeper within, deeper to our own soul essence, we also find a deeper connection to our heart. We get much clearer on what brings us joy and what makes us happy.

And then we get to choose. We can choose to do more of the things that bring us joy in life, and let go of the things that no longer serve us.

Depending on where you are on your journey, this may sound really far-fetched or unachievable. I know, dear one. If you’re very much stuck in the world of people-pleasing, putting everyone else’s needs before your own, the idea of doing more of what makes YOU happy will feel very far-fetched.

But I’m here to tell you it’s not as out of reach as you think it is. And this, dear one, is the kind of work I do.

Is this happening TO me, or FOR me?

Life can be messy, and the universe can certainly send us curveballs. But we always have a choice in how we respond.

We can get lost in the mess. We can let the balls pile on top of us until we feel like we’re drowning.

Or we can choose to look for the Glimmers of Joy. To look for the lesson. To look forward, not back.

We can ask, “Why is this happening TO me?” Or we can ask, “Why is this happening FOR me?”

One little change in the wording, and the meaning of the question changes completely.

Your Glimmer of Joy, today

The message that keeps coming up for me these last couple of weeks is this: we just never know what’s around the corner, or what tomorrow will bring.

Yes, we need to look forward and plan for our futures. But the most important thing we can do for ourselves is to live in the now. To be present, and to find the joy in this moment, even if it’s just a glimmer.

My glimmer today came out of nowhere. I ran into a friend from high school, and the smile of delight on her face at seeing me lit me right up. We had the loveliest conversation. It’s the kind of friendship where we just pick up where we left off, no matter how much time has passed, whether it’s been days, weeks, months or even years. On the hard days, joy often finds us in the people who simply light up when they see us.

So my invitation to you is for today. Not tomorrow, not next week, but today! Look for a Glimmer of Joy, and choose what makes YOU happy.

And if doing more of what makes you happy feels a long way off right now, I’d be honoured to walk alongside you. You can start with a free chat about 1:1 coaching.

Much love & blessings,

Peta