Life plonked obstacles in my path. My updated website www.lesleyireneshore.com moved from its prior location and, more than a month later, wasn’t showing up on a Google search. During this time, someone hacked my Facebook account, and my account shut down. Other frustrations piled up and I wondered what was going on. Why is this happening now? Should I stop looking for an agent to represent my book? Should I stop writing? Could I stop writing?

My website finally appeared on Google, but people needed to scroll through a long list to find it. I groused to a friend who suggested that my trials and tribulations could be part of an initiation process, that I need to “make it through an obstacle course and then pass through the eye of a needle before the magic door opens.” I wanted to believe that I’d eventually surmount the hurdles and land on the other side, wherever that might be.

A new moon arrived, and I hoped it might herald a new beginning, at least for my website. The following day dawned misty and warm for late October. I walked in the woods, then stood inside the stone circle and rotated to face each direction. Golden hickory leaves surrounded the cairn that orients me to the east. The leaves glistened atop wet stones and earth. Their golden glow reminded me of East’s association with birth and rebirth. East complements West, the direction associated with releasing the old to make room for the new, and I wondered what old patterns need to be released so that I might get to the other side.

I left the stone circle, and as I walked along leaf littered trails, I mused about how I’d pooh-poohed social media and rarely posted on Facebook. I hated to admit it, but now without access to Facebook, I missed it. And though I’d recently opened an Instagram account, I’d been dragging my feet there too.  

That night, I posted a photo of the glowing leaves on Instagram, shared thoughts about releasing old patterns to make room for new growth, and asked, What about you? Can you identify any such patterns? If so, thank them for serving you well and invite them to drift to the ground so that your new may emerge in spring. Having completed the post, I shut down my computer, stood, turned to face my bookshelf, and felt drawn to pick a card from The Nature-Speak Oracle. I grabbed the deck, began to shuffle, and “Marshland: Transition and change” leapt from the deck and fell to the floor. I consulted the oracle’s booklet and read: “Marshlands are some of the most productive ecosystems in North America. They are areas of decomposition with a breaking down of old growth so that new growth can occur. They remind us of the creative power in change and transformation … Clean out the old. Make room for the new. Embrace the change.”

Today, I ambled through the woods beneath glowing witch hazel flowers and stopped by the brook. Water rippled around rocks as it wended its way downstream. It reminded me to release resistance, transform obstacles into lessons, and to enter life’s flow.