Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees.
~ Schopenhauer
Dear Friend,
Some of us are experiencing deep frustration and despair right now. Others are enjoying riding the waves of new opportunity and unlimited possibility.
And most of us—feeling ever so hopeful about 2012—are dancing with both.
A long-time client, Julie, is really struggling. At the end of 2009, she left a high-paying, high-stress corporate training position, cashed out her 401K to fund a new business venture, and due to sluggish sales and poor timing, she is facing a possible home foreclosure.
And over the past few months, she’s also never felt more alive, more hopeful about her future and more excited about the possibilities she envisions down the road. Sound crazy?
Julie, along with millions of other Americans, is experiencing what is called polarity. And, they’re asking, “How is it possible to live with these extremes?” (Read my recent blog post I Am a Social Activist about how we experience internal polarities.)
The concept of living with polarity is not new (from as far back as we can remember, we’ve been fascinated with the balance between light and dark, birth and death, love and hatred—polarity is everywhere).
Debra Wilton Kennedy with Polarity Pathways believes the polarity path—creating consciously from wholeness—is the key to unleashing enormous untapped potential.
If we are able to hold opposite feelings and experiences: frustrations—that are very real—and our highest aspirations, we open ourselves up to a vast unknown of possibility. What I like to call, the great wide open (read more).
I encourage you to pause and be open to the unwrapped gifts you might be ignoring. Pull up two chairs and invite the extremes you’re experiencing to tea! What would they share? As you consider this theory, you might ask yourself:
- What are the current polarities in my life/career/relationships?
- Which end of the spectrum do I tend to gravitate towards (continuously hopeful/optimistic or chronically negative and discouraging)?
- Am I comfortable holding these extremes in the same space or do I want them at opposite ends of the building?!
- If I were to describe this dance (of extremes) would it be a Texas two-step, a foxtrot, the jitterbug, a waltz or Michael Jackson’s Thriller?
- What opportunities might come forth from “being” with both extremes (i.e. shifts, new perspectives, ideas, etc.)?
As you examine areas of your life where polarities exist, consider what brilliant breakthroughs might be awaiting you if you’re willing to not just live with, but embrace these extremes.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you come into balance around this theme on my blog The Journey or on my Live Inside Out Facebook community page.
Take good care and we hope to see you at an upcoming spring event—Renee and the Renee Trudeau & Associates Team info@reneetrudeau.com 512-459-6700
P.S. Interested in the work we’re doing and want to find out what resources we offer for support? Check out our new overview of services, learn about one-on-one support and view past Life Balance Newsletters.
If I am to let my life speak things I want to hear, things I would gladly tell others, I must also let it speak things I do not want to hear and would never tell anyone else. My life is not only about my strengths and virtues, it is also about my liabilities and my limits, my trespasses and my shadow. An inevitable though often ignored dimension of the quest for ‘wholeness’ is that we must embrace what we dislike or find shameful about ourselves as well as what we are confident and proud of. – Social change author/activist Parker Palmer
Upcoming Events and Training:
- March 1-31 Personal Renewal Group Online Facilitator Membership Are you a therapist, coach, parent or birth educator, leadership consultant or women's empowerment advocate who loves supporting women and helping them nurture their emotional well-being? Join an international community and facilitate self-renewal groups/retreats for women based on the award-winning The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal. Learn more. Or, click here to find a Personal Renewal Group in your area.
- New Way of Being™: Let Go, Embrace Flow and Love
 Your Life A national telecourse for men and women led by Renee Trudeau. Are you done with overwork, overwhelm and ready to discard your old habitual ways of working and being? Would you like to de-clutter, simplify, learn to leverage the power of self-care and step into a more spacious, free work/life flow? Join Renee as she supports, guides and coaches you into a new way of being and helps you access greater peace and harmony in your everyday life. REGISTER HERE (Class downloads/materials will be sent to you via email).
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