“In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity”

Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

However, sometimes, the path seems long.  In fact, not only is it long and full of challenging obstacles to cross but it’s uphill with the end not in sight.

It is really important in those times to look after yourself, to take a break, look around you for support.  The person in the photographs appears to be alone.  It must be hard to cross a fast flowing river on your own, especially when ahead there is only fog, mist and a mountain to climb.  It must feel overwhelming.

Yet, he is not really alone.  There is at least one other person there: the one who took the photograph.  By talking to that person, perhaps together they can support each other, bringing comfort and a different perspective.

Sometimes, the path can be too difficult or dangerous to travel at this time.  Perhaps you haven’t yet developed the skills, are not strong enough or perhaps you need more help.  In the middle of this difficulty is opportunity.  Opportunity to learn something about yourself, to be real with yourself and opportunity to learn something about others.  Allowing yourself to step back and see things from a distance away can enable you to do that with greater clarity.  You may identify strengths you didn’t know you had, see support where you felt there was none or a sign pointing in which direction you should travel.

The quote, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” can feel so unhelpful at times and as a colleague pointed out, it more often feels like, “Every silver lining has a cloud!”

Both can be helpful.  Both give an opportunity to learn.  We learn as much from the hard stuff as the good, be it the cloud giving us insight or the joy of finding the silver lining under the cloud.

Are you finding opportunities in the midst of difficulty with clouds and silver linings, whichever combination they appear in?

If you would like to explore difficulty and opportunity in your life further with me, then please drop me an email on louise@newcastlecounselling.co.uk or call me on 07901 218 165.