"I was walking down a path that the people around me didn't understand at all."
-Madeleine Brandli
Have you ever had to make a difficult decision and basically nobody supported you? I certainly have.
It's enough that the decision is difficult, let alone the lack of support. Who wants to have everyone around you question your choice? Who wants to feel misunderstood? Who wants to walk a difficult path alone?
Not I. I'm guessing you don't enjoy it either.
Yet those stand-alone moments come and I assert that they can bring profound and unexpected treasures.
In Madeleine's podcast episode, she shared about a stand-alone moment when her daughter had cut off all communication with her. She had to decide how to go forward and was seeking the best way — the way that brought peace to her soul.
It wasn't all that peaceful at first because people around her didn't understand her choice to release her daughter to her own journey. They had other ideas for Madeleine and how she should handle this situation. She listened and considered, but ultimately knew this was her choice to make.
So there she was.
Standing alone.
And then...a different kind of support emerged.
She found Courage.
She cultivated the ability to stand in the face of fear, opposition, and aloneness.
She found Trust.
She was able to trust in the big story of life. Even if things didn't go her way, she kept her heart open.
She found Wisdom.
She understood that there are moments in life where you make a choice that will not be understood. She found loving acceptance for the other viewpoints, and yet stood firmly in her decision.
She may not have found those gifts had she not been alone.
Which led her to find Gratitude.
She was grateful to have the opportunity to face her fears and receive these treasures in their place.