Life begins with discomfort.  As a 9 month old fetus, given the choice, to stay in the womb or go through the discomfort of passing through the birth canal, some of us would have opted to stay in the comfort of our mother’s womb.  There are some mothers,  when coping with obstinate teenagers, who might have opted for their child to stay in the womb too.

From the  infant’s viewpoint, being unceremoniously introduced to the world with it’s loud noises and bright lights, must certainly be a traumatic experience.   For the mom giving birth, the process is more often than not, painful and exhausting.  If this is her first child, there is likely to be some apprehension mixed in with the excitement at the thought of giving birth.  She may also have some fears about her abilities when it comes to raising a child.

Nature Does Not Give Us A Choice

Fortunately, nature does not give us the choice to stay in our mother’s womb or give her the choice to keep us there.  No, nature takes it course and we must endure the discomfort and the disruption whether we like it or not.   If we pay attention, we see this repeated throughout nature and throughout our lives.  Typically, the greatest rewards and most growth come from situations that move us out of our comfort zone.

For example, the California Redwood tree does not start it’s life out as a giant. It didn’t magically appear on earth full-grown and towering over all the other trees.   Redwood seeds are so tiny, a million of these seeds weighs only eight pounds.  95% of the seeds produced by a redwood tree are sterile.  When one of the productive seeds does begin sprout, not only must it push roots down through tightly-packed soil, the sprout has to push its’ way up through that same soil.  The mature trees around the seed, block most of the sunlight.  There is no guarantee it will become a tree, if anything, the odds are against it.  Even so, for this tiny seed, quitting is simply not an option.

Everywhere we look, we can find evidence that supports the idea that anything worth obtaining is going to come with some discomfort and intention.  Simply hoping and praying for something is rarely enough to bring it into reality.

There are approximately 251 babies born in the world, every minute of each day.   I like to think that most mothers feel the process of bringing their child into the world, was worth the temporary pain. As for the baby, luckily, we do not recall the physical pain or trauma of our own birth.

The next time you are faced with an uphill climb that is taking more effort than you anticipated and you are about to give up…  think about those 251 babies struggling their way into this world every minute.  Think too of that tiny seed from a California Redwood that overcame the odds to become a giant tree.