The Threads, Themes, and Spirals of Our Lives

Today I scrolled through Instagram and archived most of the photos showing my kids' faces. Those posts were originally a way to stay in touch with friends and family, but as my children have reached their teens, I'm just not comfortable with such a detailed online record of their lives.

Because of this, I reviewed over a decade of photos –documenting boo boos and lost teeth, first and last days of school, family vacations, and so many funny anecdotes– moving many of them out of public view. This tour of my highlight reel from the last ten years brought things back in such a vivid way it was literally painful. Ten years is the jump from 3 to 13, from preschool to high school. Let me tell you, it's not for the faint of heart.

But along with family activities, my Instagram feed documents so many snapshots of my interests, hopes, and dreams. It reminded me of jobs I've held, people and places I've loved, and the person I am and have always wanted to be.

Several months ago, I read the book *The Art of Work by Jeff Goins. In the book, Jeff talks about how to discover our calling and purpose in life, and how we can see hints of that identity in the threads and themes of the life we've lived so far. As I scrolled through a decade of photos and captions, I realized that they contained so many common threads:

• The many times over the years that I snapped a selfie and captioned it "soaking in the silence." (Yes, I'm an introvert.)
• So many photos of cutting boards because chopping vegetables makes me happy.
• Our massive renovation projects, and the multiple times we've lived in the remodeling chaos of unfished spaces – something that we'll be doing again soon.
• Workout selfies and my endorphin-fueled thoughts on how good it feels to move my body.
• Lots of journaling and thoughts on spirituality and faith.
• Pictures of lakes and oceans paired with reflections on how being near water soothes my soul.
• Posts marking milestones – in work, in our renovation projects, in my personal growth.

Most of all, a determination to see the difficult and challenging things in life as stepping stones to brighter days ahead.

It's interesting to look back on different versions of yourself and see the same "you" underneath. Today I realized that underneath the poignant memories, cheesy captions, and occasional moments of cringe, these snapshots of my life reveal the same strengths, passion, and determination that define who I am today.

I realized that while we tend to think that life is linear, in reality we're spiraling (hopefully upwards) as we come back again and again to the same things. The same types of challenges, thought processes, and patterns of behavior.

In each loop we learn more, gain perspective, and bring slightly better skills to the table. It's worthwhile to learn better skills, because inevitably we'll face this type of challenge again.

Since I'm currently in a new season of the same obstacles and opportunities for growth, the reminder that I've been here before and overcome these challenges is a gift.

What threads, themes, and spirals make you the person you are today?

Jamie Siebens is a writer, editor, and administrative genius with a knack for getting things done. She lives in Northwest Wisconsin with her husband, teen daughters, and a quirky rescue pup named Bentley. She writes about perspective, personal growth, and intentional living at www.jamiesiebens.com

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