My business mentor gave me much relief when she identified it as a Neutral Zone, a period of time between an ending and a new beginning.

I'm coming out of what I considered to be a dark place. As I become more aware of and vulnerable to my new experiences, I slow down and am reminded to simply notice. Recently and throughout life, I have taken some of life's pleasures for granted. Lord Byron's quote reminds me to experience the pleasure along the way. It takes a lot of trust and belief in myself and to be honest with you - some days I can stand proud in my trust and belief and other days, I don't know what the hell I'm doing! To expand on the metaphor, I may have to climb a tree, create tools out of rocks, and make friends with animals in the woods along the way. Additionally, my entrepreneurial (and personal) life currently carries with it so much uncertainty that I must realize, I'm not on somebody else's path this is a path that I get to create one day at a time. In speaking of my 'new' approach, the simple fact that I consider it to be new creates an awareness that this is foreign territory - pathless woods. Are you able to sense the lightness just by reading that sentence about my new approach? I hope so. and what is life without pleasure? Boring! With my new approach, I get to simply notice myself and my environment, including home, friends, family, work, and nature. This narrow focus gets in the way of my experiencing pleasure.

Having to find something carries with it a steadfast, intense energy that makes me envision myself marching to the beat of a soldier with my sights narrowly focused on the outcome. You see, I've been working on shifting my masculine ways of being and working. But one thing is true, I am determined to simply notice it as opposed to find it. I'm trying to not only believe this quote, but also embody it! I question it, too. 'There is pleasure in the pathless woods.' ~Lord Byron

Lord byron pathless woods