I was watering my grass the other day, pondering the whole time, “Why do we even HAVE grass? It feels like a giant summer make-work project.” But that’s a whole other blog post. I never did sort that out, but as I was thinking, suddenly, the water coming out of my hose slowed dramatically.

I followed the line of the hose back toward the tap and sure enough…the hose had twisted and there was a solid kink in it, preventing the water from doing its thing. I’m always a fan of a good metaphor (my clients can definitely attest to this!), and ALWAYS thinking about my clients between sessions; I realized that sometimes we all get a “kink” in our hoses.

Now before you go thinking I’m talking about something else…let me explain. The water flows great as long as it has a clear path. The trouble is when the hose tries to turn too fast. The path isn’t clear.

This happens in life, too. We have a plan, and things are going well until the path takes a sharp turn. You lose your job. Divorce. Illness. A disappointment. Suddenly everything grinds to a halt, and you’re just stuck. Unable to make forward progress.

A kink in the hose. As soon as the water slowed, I knew what I had to do: find the kink and straighten things out.

I gave the hose a tug, but that just restricted the flow more. I had to move the hose in a new direction and then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, things were moving again.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Sometimes we need to find the source of the problem and then create a new, clear path. Then things can begin to flow again. If you’ve been struggling with something that feels like it’s stopping your flow, take a good look at the problem. Talk it out with friends. Ask your therapist to help you come up with un-kinking ideas. Do some journaling.

Change is part of life, and sometimes it can be sudden and really mess things up. But we also have the ability to create a change of our own. Shift the direction and create a new, clear path. Then things can begin to flow