February 16, 2022

We walk life’s circle,
round and round
A rocky path of pain
is what we’ve found

I never liked rocky road ice cream. It was the marshmallows. Just never acquired the taste.   However acquiring a taste for the rocky road of life would not be an easy matter of personal choice. It would not be optional. It took me decades to get there. What ever made me think I could sail through life without a rocky road? Well, I know the answer. In our family the rocky bits were never talked about. We just sailed past them with little or no discussion. The martyrs in our family simply collected those bits and carried them through life. One scoop and then two and then many. A heavy load.

As we have traveled this life journey through the seasons and cycles of our lives we have all encountered the pain of those rocky bits. We’ve all encountered loss and disappointment and tragedy. 

Yet it’s not about the encounters, it’s about what we do with those encounters. Stuffing them in a sack and carrying those burdens through life is not an ultimately successful solution. We miss entirely the lessons we are offered. We miss entirely coming to a place of acceptance and resolution and release that allows us to move beyond those encounters with wisdom. And peace.

One day Dennis and I arrived at our graphic design offices to find our bookkeeper had locked herself in the supply closet. She didn’t want to tell us that we were $250K in debt. She was responsible for false reporting and we were responsible for not paying close attention. Dancing through the delights of graphic design, we had not watched for the rocks. It was devastating. Our bankers and accountants advised that we just declare bankruptcy and move on. A sack of rocks we would carry for the rest of the life of our business. No, thank you. It took us a few years but we stopped the hemorrhaging and paid back every penny. It was a rocky path of pain.

We don’t generally set an intention to welcome these encounters. They just arrive demanding our attention and even our hospitality, and with them the opportunity to learn how to navigate the rocky paths in life and perhaps more importantly to understand there will always be challenges in this journey. Seems counterintuitive, but it’s much about that hospitality and whether we welcome if not the encounters at least the lessons and wisdom. 

So. Rocky road. Will it be one scoop, or two…or more?

Blessings of Crone Wisdom,
Judith

For information on the Legacy of Wisdom and Call to Crone books, sacred journeys to Ireland, and gatherings, visit my StoneFire blog. stonefireblog.com