Learning lessons

"Other people may be there to help us, teach us, guide us along our path, but the lesson to be learned is always ours" (Author unknown)

I came across this quote a while ago; I don't remember where from, but I liked it immediately & wrote it down. It seems to me, to sum up the ethos of counselling. As a counsellor, we can facilitate our clients' exploration, growth & discovery. We can be there with them side by side, offering support along their path through the counselling journey; and from our presence and way of being, we can hopefully encourage them to learn the gift of self-acceptance. But we can't learn their lessons for them or 'fix' them, 'cure' them, or make everything better for them . . . that can only come from themselves.

And for all of us, the lessons we have to learn, the decisions we have to make, the things we have to do, the changes we need to make . . . can only come from within. And yes; friendship, support, love, and guidance are all invaluable, and make life much richer, but still, the lessons and progress we individually have to make, can only come from within.

And writing as someone who's life is currently in a state of change & flux, I'm very aware of the need to take more responsibility for myself, my life and my decisions. Change can be an opportunity to re-evaluate one's life and to decide where you want your life to take you. And for me, that's about increasing my sense of autonomy and taking the wheel so that I can steer my life in the direction I want it to take me.