Trust the Mud

Many years ago when I first got into the speaking business, my mentor and now dear friend, Mary LoVerde told me every time you want to get to another level, you have to go through the mud—that period when everything seems confusing, overwhelming, and downright impossible.

I am feeling that way about my current project, Your Mindful Year, the online mindfulness program I am developing. It is taking more time and energy than I ever imagined, which has been both disappointing and enlightening. At 3am in the morning when I am questioning it all—why I started this, who will buy it, and when it will actually be done, I have the opportunity to practice mindfulness and trust the mud I am in. With the release date still to be determined, I remind myself:

Trusting the mud is trusting yourself.
Trust means overall confidence that you ultimately will be all right because you are resilient, resourceful, and capable of getting to the other side of the situation, no matter what. The only way to have this self-trust is to practice believing you can make the right decision, follow your gut, and use your intuition by remembering what you already know. Get quiet, ask for inner guidance and then listen.

Trusting the mud is trusting the process.
We often don’t even know what the next level is, so how can we possibly know how long it will take to get there? It takes as long as it takes and trusting the process is remembering you are supported by something bigger and when you take one step forward, the universe will take two to meet you. Trusting the process also includes saying yes in order to get what you want. Yes to excitement. Yes to ease. Yes to service. Yes to help. Yes to growth. Yes to mud.

Trusting the mud is trusting the practice.
Trust comes from a love and commitment to yourself that you cultivate in your daily practice. The moment I sit down and take my first deep breath I remember my mindfulness practice is so much more than putting in the time each day. It is about trust—in myself, the process, the universe, and the power of my intention is bigger than I can possibly imagine.

If you you find yourself in the mud right now, full of uncertainty and confusion, remember that just like the lotus flower, when you want to get to another level, in a relationship, your health, your work or money, you have to go through the mud first.