There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
Except they are the same years reaped again and again.
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
That quote is from Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most influential writers of the 20th-century Harlem Renaissance. She was an anthropologist, novelist, memoirist, and trailblazer who defied conventions about race and gender.
Hurston's words ring so true to me.
Haven't we all experienced years that endlessly pose riddles and fill us with uncertainty about our path, purpose, and identity? And then there are those years that finally start providing some answers, bringing clarity after the fog.
Let me give you a personal example from my own life's journey.
I experienced one of those "question" years in my late teenage years.
I'd think:
"What am I doing with my life?"
"Where is this all going?"
"Am I becoming the person I want to be?"
As Mary Oliver says, "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
That quote haunted me. I had no answers, only increasingly loud questions.
After some painful soul-searching, I realised I needed a reboot. So, I moved to another country, ended unhealthy relationships, and adopted more healthy habits. That was the beginning of the "answer" years.
Slowly but surely, through new experiences, introspection, and taking honest stock of my dreams and values, the haze began to lift.
While not all the answers came at once, I could finally see the outlines of my true calling starting to take shape.
Looking back now, I see that the "question" years ultimately gave birth to the "answer" years by prompting me to re-evaluate everything and course-correct.
As Hurston says:
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer. Except they are the same years reaped again and again."
The questions and answers are intertwined parts of one continuous process of growth.
Here are a few suggestions for navigating those cycling periods of questions and answers in your own life:
• During the "question" years, don't resist the uncomfortable uncertainty. Lean into it. Ask yourself the most challenging questions about your deepest values and aspirations. This upheaval is necessary to break you out of inertia.
• Keep a journal during these times. Getting your swirling thoughts and emotions on paper will help make sense of the chaos.
• Expose yourself to new perspectives and life experiences. This can provide unexpected insight and inspiration when you're feeling adrift.
• Once you have some answers, don't cling stubbornly to them. Be willing to evolve as life keeps asking new questions.
As Hurston understands, "nothing on earth is permanently solid."
So, whether you're currently floundering under life's probing questions or standing on more solid ground with some clarity, embrace both the questions and the answers as catalysts for ongoing growth and reinvention.
Be patient with all that is unsolved in your heart.
In time, the answers will come. And likely spark an entirely new set of questions to be lived.
May we all have the courage and wisdom to embrace the cycle of mysteries and illuminations—the questions and the answers.
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