Life is a spiral. You are never going backwards.

My Quero Apache auntie, Maria Yraceburu, gave me the most beautiful image for personal growth year ago. She told me that life is a spiral.

Think about a spiral. Picture one in front of you or draw one on a piece of paper. Trace it with your finger.

You will notice that sometimes your finger seems to be going backwards or downwards. Sometimes your finger seems to be going forwards or upwards.

But no matter what your finger is doing in each moment the spiral itself is always, always going up and expanding.

That is life.

Spiraling Always
Sometimes you have a huge epiphany only to need down time to process it. Sometimes you make a big change in your life only to need a break. Sometimes you have had a break for a while and then you... you get the point?

Inner, outer, inner, outer... we work in the outside world and process it in our inner world. We get information or the urge to change from our inner world and we process it in our outer world.

We spiral.

Change
So if you are wanting to make change in your life...

...if you want a better relationship with your kids, or to get back into shape, or to increase the feeling of partnership with your partner and you feel like you are going backwards remember the spiral.

You are not supposed to have a life without any conflict or challenge. That is no life at all. But it is what you do with that conflict and challenge that creates the life you want.

"Gosh, this sucks, what have I learned about what I prefer?"

"Wow, I'm ready to be over this depressed feeling. How can I reach for a better thought or a better today?"

"Hey! Things are awesome!!! I love my life! I'm going to try this new idea out... whoa, OK, guess that wasn't exactly what I had in mind... now what, how can I improve upon my idea?"

Be easy on yourself.

Be kind to you.

And remember...sometimes a cycle it may feel like it will last forever. But just as kids grow up, just as seasons change, you, too, cycle. And the experiences you are having are always bring your soul up.