Each of us lives in a world, and that world is meant to dry up in its time like a withering flower to make way for the growth that follows it. Lacking an understanding of the process, we are depressed and discouraged when it happens. We say that things aren’t going well for us. We look for ways to solve our problems, fix things, and get our lives back on track again. Of course, “back on track” means “back on the track they were on before we encountered this difficulty.” And that means “back into the life that it was actually time to let go of.”

Now, I am not claiming that our lives never need repair or that every difficulty is a sign that developmental disenchantment is at hand. I am just saying that our active-minded, mechanistic culture is highly alert to the need to fix things and very oblivious to the way that problematical. Most of us have been raised to define courage as the emotional fortitude that enables us to hold fast during difficult times, when the courage that is often called for is the courage to let go. In our culture we are encouraged to seek out advice about what we should do, when doing nothing but listening and watching for transition-related signals may be the best way to move forward through our difficulties.