02_23_2022

Turning Stumbling Blocks into Stepping-Stones

When I pause to think about how likely it is that we may stumble on our journey through life, I am reminded of how we react to these slipups with great surprise. Our reactions of being caught off guard suggest that deeply embedded in our view of our journey is one in which all runs quite smoothly.

Let’s pause for a moment and review some of the elements that we take for granted in our lives, at least before we experienced the adjustments resulting from the Pandemic. When we do our grocery shopping, we anticipate that we’ll be able to purchase the items on our shopping lists. While we  know that our use of public transportation may run a bit late, we expect that the train or bus will show up even if late.

We have grown accustomed to relying on technology to conduct our work, to find information we are seeking, and to keep us connected with others in our lives. When we turn on our computers first thing in the morning, we simply expect them to work perfectly. As a result of our anticipation of things working as expected, we are easily thrown when we encounter stumbling blocks that require that we adjust.

My experience suggests that there are two types of stumbling blocks that we encounter in life. The first category is the most challenging: Things don’t go as easily as we thought, and we have to pause and regroup to figure out how to resolve the obstacle that stands in our way.

Recently a colleague of mine reached out to me as she was interested in starting a blog and she knew that I had been blogging for several years. I walked her through what I could recall about setting up a website to support my entries. I shared that when I was doing the research on how to get started, I realized that this would be a much less frustrating process if I could find a service to help me. I shared the resources I used and provided an overview of the services and their costs that could be purchased.

I hoped that by preparing her to anticipate that setting up a website to support a blog involved many decisions, she would be more prepared to tackle each step. Admitting that I found the process much easier with someone guiding me through each step was my way of saying that it’s okay if we need the assistance of others.

Experience has taught me that breaking larger challenges into manageable steps has proven to be an effective strategy in overcoming what feel like huge obstacles. It’s been months since I shared this information with my interested colleague, but I’ve not heard that she has actually followed through. I am hopeful that she will follow through on her goal if she is still interested.

I’ve realized that  I can learn most things through the assistance of others who have more expertise or experience than I do as long as I am willing to put in the work. Every endeavor we undertake has byproducts of learning that we may have not anticipated, and often these byproducts turn out to be useful in other parts of our lives.

In setting up a website to support my blogs, I gained a deeper knowledge of how websites work, information that has been useful to me in two of my volunteer activities. Once we realize and accept that the path to problem-solving our way through stumbling blocks is a willingness to re-orient ourselves to lay the steppingstones that will help us reach our goals, we become more resourceful in problem-solving.

I experience a heightened sense of confidence that I am capable of working my way through challenges. Any time I learn more about how to navigate the technology challenges that are part of our lives today, I enjoy a sense of ease that I can continue to master the steps that will enable me to enjoy the benefits that technology brings to our lives.

The other great aspect of stumbling in our lives is that sometimes we “stumble” onto something unexpected that turns out to be a wonderful experience. This quote leads me to share examples:

“Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else. You can’t stumble upon something new and wonderful if you don’t have time to stumble. Sometimes I stumble upon a wonderfully irresistible to me voice, unexpectedly.”

I have had the great fortune of stumbling into unexpected, wonderful experiences while sightseeing. One of my stumbling highlights included discovering the Rodin Sculpture Garden in Paris as my traveling companion and I were on a leisurely walk from the Pantheon to the Eiffel Tower. We first noticed all of the sculptures in the extensive garden surrounding what turned out to be the Rodin Museum, and we had enough art sense to realize we were viewing Rodin’s work. My recollection is that we didn’t even realize that this collection of his work existed within the city of Paris.

On a similar note, pre-Covid restrictions, I enjoyed visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on a regular basis. The Museum is large enough that in addition to featuring a signature exhibition, there are always multiple smaller exhibits. Often after viewing the main event, I’ll look at the daily schedule to read about additional smaller exhibits being featured when I am visiting.

I discovered two wonderful, memorable exhibits by stumbling onto them, meaning that I was drawn to the Museum by the main event. One exhibit was by the wood blocker, Blanche Lazzell —

and the other was by the Japanese artist, Katsushika Hokusai

Each of these collections was breathtaking, and they were in smaller, less crowded viewing galleries so one could leisurely take them in.

This type of stumbling onto something wonderful, whether it is a book, a career opportunity, a new restaurant, or a new walking path is a great reminder that if we just put ourselves out there we are likely to encounter wonderful surprises.

The only prerequisite for finding these types of unexpected surprises is that we have to be willing to check them out if  we have a sense that we might find them interesting or enjoyable. We just have to take the first step of exploring what we might find.

Calling on our reservoirs of patience and discovery, we prepare ourselves to make the most of any stumbling block that we encounter in our lives.