To travel you must yield

The phrase, to travel, you must yield, jumped out at me as I read a recent Charter for Compassion email. It spoke of the way one must travel a one lane road that was open to two-way traffic. I was intrigued by this saying. Of course, a few days later, I put it into practice as I walked the labyrinth. 

Five of us walked a labyrinth on Sunday morning. The labyrinth was a bit smaller than I was expecting. The path was narrow. The border between lanes was ever narrower. As I walked, I understood that saying: to travel you must yield.

Let me say that I have always been bit non-bending when I walk a labyrinth. I never deviate from the path. To step anywhere other than the walkway…well, it just wasn’t going to happen for me. But, my strict adherence to staying on the path just wasn’t possible on that early morning. I had to be flexible and communal in my walk.

I found myself stepping onto the borders and sometimes on the part of the path going in the opposite direction. Yet, I never lost site of the path that led me to the center of the labyrinth. Instead of being frustrated, I chuckled. I recognized that my walk mimicked the way I journey through life. Maybe I find myself in the weeds or get turned around, but I always return to the path better for the experience.

Have I mentioned that there is always a message waiting for me in the heart of the labyrinth? Well, the message arrived earlier on this walk. On that morning, my walking of the labyrinth let me know there was nothing wrong with my life journey. The journey of side steps and stepping back from beginning to end was perfectly okay. To travel I must yield — to myself, to others, to the sacred manifest on the journey. 

While I may believe that at times I step far from my intended path, I really have not. I am just ankle deep in the weeds of challenge. Or, I find myself treading the same part of the path again. But, the weeds, the deviation to my forward moment are necessary to bring me exactly where I need to be in this moment. No matter where I am, I find the potential to breathe into the glory, the grace that life holds. 

To travel you must yield for it is in the yielding that the wonder of life really happens. In the yielding, we find those moments to breathe, to look deeply into the shadows of our self, and to understand that life is lived in those moments when we walk the path that brings us home to our self. 

 

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating those places may scare us or bring us joy. The result of time with Van? Creating a blue print for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

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