Have you ever stumbled upon the exact quote that you needed to hear at the exact time when you need to hear it? I was scrolling through my Instagram feed the other day when I came across the following line:

“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.”

Those words spoke straight to my soul.

You see, lately I’ve been feeling like more of a mess than a masterpiece. I finally (or so I had thought) cleared a huge block that was preventing me from stepping up and owning my light in a couple major areas of my life….only to have my ego surface again, very quickly and with a vengeance. (Spoiler alert: This will often happen when you commit to making a really big change.) I was heartbroken. Here I thought I had cleared this huge spiritual hurdle only to land on the other side and find myself face to face with a solid brick wall. Ugh. If you’re reading this I’m sure you can relate.

Here’s the thing: Our spiritual journeys are full of ups and downs, and sometimes the Universe has an even deeper healing in store than what we had planned for ourselves. It’s during these “down” times, more than ever, that patience and faith come into play. (Yes, I’m asking you to have patience and faith at a time when you want to be like “F this spiritual sh*t” —- Trust me, sister. I know.) These are also the times when we have to force ourselves to take a step back and look at the big picture.

When we insist on focusing so intently on one area of our life where we’re still failing to “get it right” then, suddenly, we start to view everything else in our world by the same distorted lens. We feel lost, confused, and at a total standstill. We want to throw in the towel. And for a little while, we do. We allow ourselves to become sucked farther and farther down the deep dark hole of, “Nothing ever works out for me and I’m destined to be alone / a failure / stuck for the rest of my life.” Familiar? Yes. Totally false? One thousand times yes.

If you’re currently feeling at a standstill emotionally or spiritually, take a step back and look at the big picture. Where have you gotten it right? Where are you currently excelling? Take a moment and celebrate that. For crying out loud, you worked hard to get there.

And also know this: Wherever you’re at along your personal growth or spiritual journey is totally and completely ok. I know that when we encounter what feels like a “setback” it can be extremely disappointing (and sometimes downright devastating), but you don’t have to allow yourself to drown in the disappointment. All that really does is drive you deeper into the (false) story that things will never change (i.e. that YOU will never change). Instead, you can make the choice to simply let yourself be. You can choose to celebrate and own the masterpiece that you already are while becoming the person you are becoming.

What happens when you stop degrading yourself and start celebrating? You create room to breathe. You grant yourself freedom in the gray zone rather than needing everything to be so black and white. You allow yourself to feel lighter and more peaceful (and, dare I say, happier?) along your journey. You allow your masterpiece to unfold.