'Rock bottom' often gets a bad rap. I'll admit it feels like the pits of friggin' hell landing there, but the offerings that await once we pull ourselves up from its piercing, cold and lowly floor are quite possibly the grandest in all of life.
In my book The Runaway, I talk about my personal bedrock moment, when my will to live had waned, and how from that place of internal isolation and pain, where everything that wasn't honoring my soul was ripped from my world (my beliefs, my direction, my relationship), I began the arduous task of rebuilding.
It was in that darkness, while lying in a tearful heap on the cold stone of rock bottom; empty with nothing left to lose, that I finally understood I was the only one responsible for my life. Oh it took some time, but when I finally got up, I left my guilt, shame and inadequacy right there on the floor. I picked up humility, courage and empowerment and began walking towards the light.
Years later I would gaze back at what can only be described as my darkest hours with nothing but profound gratitude for the wisdom obtained from such an experience and the brutally penetrating and enlightening insights it awarded me about who I am.
But perhaps the most impactful discovery was the realization that no matter how far down the rabbit hole we fall; no matter how fucked up and alone we feel; no matter how rooted our pain - love is deeper still.
So remember, there's no need to fear the darkness. Hitting rock bottom is the beginning of the quest into ourselves; the launching pad for our questions concerning everything we believe to be true. It is the moment when in our rawest vulnerability, we get real with ourselves - examining our behaviors, our dramas, our attachments and the cyclical roles we keep playing out.
Rock bottom is the solid foundation on which to rebuild your life and the most radiant gem unearthed while there will be you.