O – Obstacles

These are very short extracts from Susan E. Schwartz and my recently released book “Aging & Becoming ~ A Reflective Enquiry”. Susan E. Schwartz is represented as SES, my words as SS – italicised. From ‘Other & Obstacles’.

SS: And of course, the greatest obstacle to overcome is often the one we’ve put upon ourselves. We could ask in quiet times, what is preventing me from living a larger and more loving life? In what way am I not living in what remains of my life, as authentically as possible? In what way do I collude in oppressing my own self? Especially as we know that time is no longer infinite as we thought it was.

Is the obstacle sometimes the path? pg 95

SES: Have you heard of the word omphalos? It is often used in Jungian psychology and describes the arc of life. It symbolizes the center or hub of something, a rounded stone, and the navel of the earth from ancient Greek mythology. The definition implies drawing the circle of life around oneself, and being aware of what emerges from the center. It is an opening to the origins and indicates an obedience to who one really is, a true center and centering. pg 96

‘What are the obstacles the prevent me from living my larger life?’

Anne Baring.

28 Comments on AtoZ Blog Challenge O for Obstacles

  4. Awesome. One of my life mottoes is: You build your own reality. We build walls to keep us safe, never realizing that they also cage us in. Mentally, we can’t handle the wide world of possibilities, but it good to occasionally prod one of those walls free and push beyond them.

    • Thank you Crystal for coming by! You state the paradox or unintended consequences of building walls so well and the need or necessity of breaking them down to create one’s individual reality.

  5. Very challenging question susan, I suppose its fears and limiting thoughts and past experiences which prevents me… I am afraid of taking risks and need to deal with my own fears 🙂

  6. Reminds me of the Buddhist philosophy that each of us is the center of our own universe. I always seem to create obstacles for myself. Not sure why that is…

  7. I need to explore further these valuable questions: what is preventing me from living a larger and more loving life? In what way am I not living in what remains of my life, as authentically as possible? In what way do I collude in oppressing my own self?

    • Hi Hilary thanks for coming by. They thrust themselves upon us, at the most inopportune time .. but with an inner attitude that serves us and a spot of healthy adaptation, Fates that are kindly, we can hopefully get through them – Susan

  11. Omphalos–that’s a keeper word. This is–as are most of your posts–so true. Obstacles become opportunities, make me paint outside the lines. Thank you for this reminder.

    • Obstacles as opportunities – that’s neat thanks Jacqui. Hard to see it that way when in the midst of the obstacle but it certainly can be seen as an hidden opportunity in the long run. Mmmm, my post for tomorrow could have been on paradox ..

  12. Boy, in aging health obstacles seem to narrow my circle of life. These are the surprises I was not expecting. Working beyond the obstacles and through the obstacles definitely IS a challenge. Thanks for your wise post!

    • Thanks Gwynn, expect the unexpected is something I’ve learned to accept! Working through and beyond is a task indeed.

  13. Such a rich question. I always think of omphalos in connection with the Delphic oracle, and would love to take the question to her for a wisdom read.

  14. Hi Susan, thanks for sharing your post. “The definition implies drawing the circle of life around oneself, and being aware of what emerges from the center”.
    This sentence reminds me so much about a (lucid) dream I once had about flying around in infinity. I had so much fun bending my body in time so I could dive up, or down and keep at speed to maintain my motion. Life is a lot like that 😉

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