Welcome the struggle. You want to see and experience a struggle. 

What??!!!

Recently, in class, my students were analyzing the song from the Broadway play Hamilton "My Shot". One of the resonating themes is the understanding that a struggle will need to occur; the colonies will, in order to break free from the British monarchy, choose to wander into a state of anarchy if they hope to reach the other side and become a sovereign state. As Hamilton ponders,

"And? If we win our independence?
‘Zat a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
Or will the blood we shed begin an endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?"

... his observation is wise. No, we do not know what the outcome of our efforts will be when we begin. When we look the struggle in the eyes and decide to step into it, we, at that moment, cannot be certain of the outcome; however, we can be certain of our determination. 

If our current way of life doesn't suit us, doesn't makes us feel well, fulfilled or in fact, offers a constant state of discontent (whether the state of our health, the attitude we bring to the day out of habit, or the state of our relationships, just to name a few examples), in order to change it, a struggle must occur. 

Take for example the struggle to lose weight, build strength, reduce body fat and build muscle mass. In order to build muscle, we must tear our muscles - we must exhaust them (whether with light or heavy weights - it does not matter). When our muscles become torn, they swell with water and the lactic acid builds . . . temporarily. Often we are sore, especially 2-3 days after we've worked out; however, then the muscle will begin to rebuild itself and become stronger. Paired with a healthy, eating regimen, the results become noticeable in approximately 4-8 weeks. But first, the muscles must endure the struggle. 

When we make the decision to walk away initially from whatever it is that is no longer serving us well, there is an immediate moment when we can breathe more deeply as if a burden has been lifted. But then, so long as we are choosing to strive toward a better way of living, a struggle will present itself. Perhaps an unknown feeling, an unknown experience repeated often, both of which we do not have the tools to navigate effectively . . . yet. The key word in the previous sentence is "yet". 

Yes, we will have to acquire new tools, learn new skills and become aware of defaults that need to be consciously shifted in order to successfully move through the struggle. Referring to the muscle metaphor above, we will have to choose to budget money to pay a trainer to show us how to properly tone our bodies. We will have to choose to prioritize our days differently, but so long as we keep in mind why we are choosing to experience the struggle, and knowing it is temporary, we can push through it and come out successfully on the other side. 

So now my question to you is: What is worth the struggle for you?

Even when we choose to embrace a struggle, giving ourselves time to breathe, moments to relax, opportunities to savor are essential in order to maintain the entergy to continue to strive forward. And it is my hope that the weekly TSLL newsletter is a breath of calm to your day when you choose to sit down, open the email and begin perusing what we've been posting this past week on TSLL blog. 

So what happened this week? Well, wonderful conversation percolated around Wednesday's Why Not . . . ? post in the comments section on the blog and on Facebook regarding a new French-inspired kitchen tool I acquired, the second "Ask Shannon" episode aired on the podcast this week to answer questions about travel attire to wear in Paris, eating well during busy weekdays, and a scrumptious winter vegetarian dinner recipe was shared as well. But there is more, so be sure to take a look below.

Thank you for choosing to subscribe to the newsletter and have a beautiful weekend. Until next week, I'll see you on the blog.