I believe our life experiences follow a spiral pattern.  Over our whole lifetime we regularly revisit our problems and challenges but always at a different level of understanding and experience.

Each time it recurs the challenge presents differently to the ways it has presented in the past.  It may be just slightly different to the last time.  Or it may be so wildly new that at first we don’t recognise that the underlying lesson and gift it holds are the same as those we’ve encountered before.

I’ve learnt that these opportunities recur over and over through our life until we finally notice and recognise the gift, the lesson, the challenges hold.  It may be a hidden opportunity, a new direction or a new understanding of a situation.  It may simply be a reminder to focus and reassess our daily habits.

Sometimes the gift in challenges may not be apparent, requiring us to meditate or check in with our heart to identify it.  Invariably if this happens there is a fear that needs to be acknowledged and released.

But most of the time the underlying lesson, or gift, is the reminder to value yourself and to reconnect with your own deep inner wisdom.

Life offers us the opportunity to grow through our experience.  It throws us challenges to remind us to review and appreciate ourselves. It provides challenges as an opportunity to go deeper within, to examine our thoughts, beliefs and habits.  But we must remain open to receive the gift within the challenges and look within to find the courage and insight to rise to them.