Walking Beside
The quiet strength of trusting another person's journey
#54
These past weeks have brought a joy like no other as I helped my son move from his college apartment back to Portland to begin his very first job after graduation. It fills my heart like nothing else to be able to support my children when they need it because big life transitions almost always benefit from a little extra love and support.
Weeks before the move, I helped arrange the moving truck, reserve a storage unit, order boxes, packing paper, tape, and bubble wrap so he could pack everything ahead of time. I booked my one-way flight knowing he would drive his car while I drove the truck back to Portland. My parents graciously invited him to stay with them during his first three months of training, and after loading both the truck and the car with the help of a couple of his friends, we made the seven-hour drive back to town, unloaded everything into storage, returned the truck, and completely collapsed from exhaustion. The following day we spent time shopping for work clothes, creating memories I know I will always treasure.
As much as I was helping Ethan navigate a new chapter, I realized I was navigating one of my own.
Parenting changes as our children grow. I have always taken the stance of allowing my kids to make their own mistakes and learn from them, while at the same time carrying that fierce momma bear instinct to protect them. But I can't control every aspect of their lives, and there are going to be lessons and truths I can't prevent from happening. They have their own paths, and as much as I want everything to be smooth and easy for them, I also know that isn't how any of us become who we're meant to be.
I believe we are here to experience soul growth, and part of that growth is allowing the people we love the space to have their own experiences. We can support them, encourage them, and walk beside them, but we can't walk the path for them. That realization isn't always easy for me as a parent, but perhaps one of the greatest expressions of love isn't removing every obstacle. It's trusting that someone is capable of discovering their own strength while knowing you'll be there if they ask for your help.
I drove into Portland a day early so I could spend the evening with my parents before Ethan arrived, and those hours together reminded me once again that even busy lives can make room for what matters most. Living two hours from the city requires planning and intention, but love has a way of making the effort worthwhile.
Interestingly, that same lesson has been showing up in another area of my life as well.
Lately I've found myself feeling frustrated during conversations with people through my work who genuinely want change, who sincerely desire a different life, and yet remain unwilling to take that first uncomfortable step towards creating it. The founder of the organization has spent more than fifty-five years studying, learning, and decoding these Universal principles into a repeatable process, and I continue stretching myself by applying this work to my own thinking every day. It isn't always easy. It requires honesty, reflection, and a willingness to become uncomfortable. But every time I choose that inner stretch, I find more freedom, more compassion, more joy, and a greater capacity to love.
I've realized that my frustration doesn't really come from people saying no.
It comes from wanting something for someone more than they want it for themselves.
Just as I cannot walk my children's path for them, I cannot walk someone else's path either. We all have free will. We all arrive at our own moments of readiness. Growth can be invited, but it can't be forced.
So instead of carrying frustration, I continue reminding myself that the most loving thing I can do is hold space, offer what I can, trust their timing, and always hold the highest and best outcome for them whether our paths continue together or naturally move in different directions.
After helping with the move, I intentionally took a few extra days off to recover. My body was grateful for it. I work out four or five days a week, walk most days, and at 55 I find myself deeply appreciative of the strength I still have. I'm also learning to respect my limits in ways I never used to. There was time to enjoy the lake, spend afternoons on the water, read, and even do a little earthing by pulling weeds and getting my hands into the soil.
Already I noticed the sun beginning to set a little earlier. Years ago that would have made me sad, knowing the long stretch of gray Oregon winters was approaching. This year, though, I smiled. My life has changed. Come fall I'll return to a sunnier climate because I intentionally built a life that allows me to choose where I want to live. That freedom didn't happen by accident. It required courage, planning, sacrifice, and many uncomfortable decisions along the way. Every dream asks something of us before it becomes reality.
Receiving the energy and nourishment of the sun has become one of those simple daily practices that fills me up. I consciously lift my face toward its warmth and allow myself to receive what it so freely offers. The rhythms and cycles of the Earth and planets in our solar system work in such beautiful harmony, and remembering that we are so much more than these temporary human spacesuits always brings me comfort.
I also recently read a reminder that angels are always available to help us—but we have to ask. I love that thought.
Sometimes Spirit keeps me moving through the people who show up at exactly the right moment. Sometimes through an unexpected conversation. Sometimes through an airplane, a U-Haul truck, or by waking me in the middle of the night with words that won't let me go back to sleep.
I know there will always be more opportunities to practice this. To choose Love. To support without controlling. To encourage without rescuing. To trust that every soul has its own path and its own perfect timing.
And I'll keep choosing that path right alongside them.
To your highest and best,
Dianna
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