{"id":456,"date":"2023-12-28T11:22:06","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T18:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/?p=456"},"modified":"2023-12-28T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T18:22:06","slug":"finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Swamp thing -courtesy of Canva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about what I\u2019ve experienced. It\u2019s been a year! I could easily describe 2023 as a feral swamp thing who tore through my life with a vengeance, leaving slime and mud as its signature \u2013 and there would be truth to that story. But it\u2019s all about perspective, isn\u2019t it? And perspective is a choice.<\/p>\n

The fact is, 2023 gently (and not so gently) prodded me to find my way to peace when life was harsh and unyielding. She insisted I love beyond reason and logic, that I maintain hope when there seemed to be none available, and that I see life through the windows of the eternal rather than fixating on any one particular moment. She has been a determined and unrelenting teacher who demanded my full and undivided attention, insisting that I acknowledge my own limitations and learn to accept them with whatever compassion and grace I could muster.<\/p>\n

2023 challenged me to talk less about my beliefs and do more living from them. I\u2019m both exhausted by the lessons and inspired by the outcomes.<\/p>\n

What was your year like, and what story will you tell about 2023?<\/p>\n

Understanding the Power of Perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n For many, 2023 was a year of challenges and unanticipated hardships. Yet, it\u2019s in the framing<\/a> of these experiences that we find our power. Just like the metaphorical \u2018swamp thing\u2019 I described, difficulties sometimes seem to tear through our lives, leaving a trail of distress. However, shifting our perspective allows us to retroactively see these challenges not only as destructive forces but as catalysts for personal growth and peace.<\/p>\n Embracing Life\u2019s Hardships as Teacher<\/strong><\/h2>\n**** ** ****Life\u2019s harshness can often feel overwhelming. The key to making peace with the challenges lies in understanding that these hardships are not just obstacles but opportunities for deep learning. In moments of despair, it\u2019s essential to cultivate an unreasonable love \u2013 a love that persists despite the circumstances. Hope, too, becomes a crucial element. In 2023, many of us learned to find hope in the darkest of times. This isn\u2019t just wishful thinking; it\u2019s a strategic and resilient approach to life\u2019s unpredictability.<\/p>\n Seeing Through the Windows of the Eternal<\/strong><\/h2>\n One powerful lesson I\u2019ll take from 2023 is the importance of viewing life not as a series of isolated events but as part of a larger, eternal journey. Adopting this perspective can help us avoid getting bogged down by the minutiae of daily struggles. It\u2019s not an easy perspective to take on because it requires us to be more objective about our human experience and its limitations. It\u2019s vital to meet human frustration with compassion and grace. This acceptance of human limitation doesn\u2019t mean resignation; it\u2019s an act of self-love<\/a> and understanding that paves the way for personal growth. If we can remind ourselves that we are eternal beings and that our souls are wise beyond this physical experience, the \u2018soul self\u201d is able to guide us to the learnings available from our human experiences. This soul-level guidance helps us step more deeply into compassionate self-love and even personal forgiveness.<\/p>\n Living Your Beliefs<\/strong><\/h2>\n******** ** Talk is cheap, as the saying goes. The past year challenged many to align their actions more closely with their beliefs. This shift from talking to doing is a powerful step toward authenticity and integrity. It\u2019s about making your life a true reflection of your values and principles. Living this way allows us to experience the growth, resilience, and strength that comes from overcoming the challenges we encounter.<\/p>\n ** Your Story for 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\n * As we reflect on the past year, consider what narrative you choose to write about your experiences. How have your challenges shaped you? In what ways have you grown? Your story of 2023 can be one of tenacity, learning, and hope, a testament to your adaptability, strength, and persistence. The way we frame our experiences will significantly influence our perception and emotional response to them, now and in the future. Let\u2019s choose to see 2023 not just as a year of hardships but as a period of spectacular opportunity for personal growth.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" * **********\u00a0 With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about what I\u2019ve experienced. It\u2019s been a year! I could easily describe 2023 as a feral swamp thing who tore through my life with a vengeance, leaving slime and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5128,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,249,246,6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inner-divinity","category-new-year","category-perspective","category-spiritual-values","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFinding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Converging Paths\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ahriana.platten\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-28T18:22:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1882\/2023\/12\/Untitled-780-x-585-px3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"585\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Ahriana Platten\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Ahriana Platten\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/\",\"name\":\"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-28T18:22:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-28T18:22:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#\/schema\/person\/61ff612f1e02dfe8b5d682b332a545df\"},\"description\":\"With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/\",\"name\":\"Converging Paths\",\"description\":\"Dr. Ahriana Platten's column, "Converging Paths," provides interfaith dialogue, explores the tapestry of rites, rituals, and traditions, and uncovers the transformative power of collaborative spiritual synergy.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#\/schema\/person\/61ff612f1e02dfe8b5d682b332a545df\",\"name\":\"Dr. Ahriana Platten\",\"description\":\"Dr. Ahriana Platten is a wisdom keeper, practical mystic, and leading-edge coach for spiritual leaders, visionaries, and world-changers. As the founder of asoulfullworld.com, a global wisdom community, she guides individuals in living an authentic, purpose-driven, and passionate life. With over 30 years of metaphysical training, Ahriana is a certified Transpersonal Hypnotherapist, a Unity Minister, a Master Healer, and a 3rd-degree High Priestess in two esoteric religious traditions.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.asoulfullworld.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ahriana.platten\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ahriana_platten\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/author\/aplatten\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges","description":"With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges","og_description":"With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/","og_site_name":"Converging Paths","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ahriana.platten\/","article_published_time":"2023-12-28T18:22:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":585,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1882\/2023\/12\/Untitled-780-x-585-px3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dr. Ahriana Platten","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. Ahriana Platten","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/","name":"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-28T18:22:06+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-28T18:22:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#\/schema\/person\/61ff612f1e02dfe8b5d682b332a545df"},"description":"With the door to 2024 swinging open and the challenges of 2023 quickly dissolving into the past, I find myself reflecting on how to talk about...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/2023\/12\/finding-peace-and-growth-amidst-challenges\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Finding Peace and Growth Amidst Challenges"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/","name":"Converging Paths","description":"Dr. Ahriana Platten's column, "Converging Paths," provides interfaith dialogue, explores the tapestry of rites, rituals, and traditions, and uncovers the transformative power of collaborative spiritual synergy.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/#\/schema\/person\/61ff612f1e02dfe8b5d682b332a545df","name":"Dr. Ahriana Platten","description":"Dr. Ahriana Platten is a wisdom keeper, practical mystic, and leading-edge coach for spiritual leaders, visionaries, and world-changers. As the founder of asoulfullworld.com, a global wisdom community, she guides individuals in living an authentic, purpose-driven, and passionate life. With over 30 years of metaphysical training, Ahriana is a certified Transpersonal Hypnotherapist, a Unity Minister, a Master Healer, and a 3rd-degree High Priestess in two esoteric religious traditions.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.asoulfullworld.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ahriana.platten\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ahriana_platten\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/author\/aplatten\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/convergingpaths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}