Find Your Sweet Spot in the Middle

I just watched a beautiful, old movie called, Hope Floats, with Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. The main character, Birdee Pruitt (Bullock) is going through a separation and divorce from her husband. She is making a new start back in her hometown of Smithville, Texas. It is a touching and sad story about starting over by going back home. I can relate to the premise of the movie after my divorce and move from Seattle back to Frankfort, Indiana not quite two years ago. There are parts I can’t relate to as well, since Birdee is a mom and is wrestling with being a mom while going through an earth-shattering, identity shaking life event. Nevertheless, watching it again, was heart-warming to know that there is an essence in human experience where personal upheaval shakes us all in our core and we have to make choices like, “Where do I do from here?” Sometimes, where we think life has basically ended- a new and beautiful beginning is right around the corner.

In the movie, Birdee slowly begins to open herself up and falls in love with Justin Matisse (Connick Jr.). At first, she seems unable to open her heart again but after going through the grief of suddenly losing her mother, she seems to get a fresh perspective on what’s important in life. Maybe you’ve been through something life-changing? Perhaps, your world looks different now? If so, know that you aren’t crazy and it is totally normal to need time to adjust to your new perspective.

There is a quote from this movie that I just love. It is a quote that Birdee tells her daughter Bernice. She says, “Beginnings are usually scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So, when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And, it will.” 
– Steven Rogers from Hope Floats screenplay

I have been thinking about this quote and how my tagline is #messymiddle and how many of us (myself included) struggle in those in between seasons of our life. We might complain or wish we knew the answer or were at a final decision. Yet, there is so much to be gained by embracing the middle. The middle is where we likely have more wisdom than we did in childhood and we still have some energy and drive to live our best lives. Let’s not miss out on the blessings of the middle of our stories just because they are messy. Let’s enjoy the ooey-gooey middle filling of our ordinary, Oreo lives.

I’m launching my business more fully as Soul Purpose Coaching and I’d be happy to do a complimentary call with you to talk with you about whatever messy middle you find yourself in. Blessings and Love, Shelley

Bullock, S., Connick, H., Rowlands, G., & Whitaker, F. (1998). Hope floats. 20th Century Fox.