On a recent early morning, I sat on the floor beside my daughter Ella, writing in my journal as she stretched and bounced in a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to reach her favorite butterfly finger puppet. Aware of Ella’s growing frustration, I wrote about my own frustration with the speed at which I am moving toward one of my primary goals. Just as I wrote that, Ella’s persistence overcame the force of inertia and caused her to fly forward toward the butterfly, landing face down, sprawled out, right hand beside her intended target. Unharmed, but startled by the unexpecte manner in which momentum and gravity conspired to assist her desire, she began to whimper until I picked her up and, with a big smile, congratulated her on her courageous effort.
As a charter member of the “there are no coincidences school,” I could not ignore the timing of Ella’s face plant. How did her action relate to my frustration? Ella’s desire fueled her actions and propelled her forward toward her goal. Without the power of her desire, she probably would not have persisted, let alone, breached the barrier of inertia between her and the pink and yellow...