The beauty behind every challenge - why I write poetry Guest Blog by Leander Ruivenkamp

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.”

This is one of my favourite quotes by one of my favourite writers, in one of my favourite books, called: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach.

This quote sits so well with me because I believe it is true. We go out of our way to challenge ourselves and find problems to solve. Whether it’s for growth; for healing; for satisfying our potential or just for fun; there is always a gift to be found in a good challenge. And especially those committed to development and learning know how a challenge or a problem can be a gift. But it’s not always so straightforward.

And this is one of the reasons why I write poetry. Not only to feel the satisfaction of translating my reality into words but also to see the bigger picture and give a deeper meaning to otherwise perhaps ordinary experiences. In other words: to collect gifts, even if that gift is just a slight change of mood, a gentle sigh in my chest and pleasant silence in my mind.

Often there are beautiful things hidden in plain sight. Or underneath a painful experience. It might not feel like that while it’s happening and it won’t change the experience itself - I mean pain is still pain - but to practice seeing more than only the ‘problem’ is in itself a beautiful practice.

And if there’s anything I would like to give you as a takeaway from this blog post is to practice this, seeing the bigger picture.

Not to push something else away, not to become rigid in positive thinking or to feel less of what needs to be felt - but to squeeze tiny little gifts from the problems you face. Because over time these little gifts will create a treasure chest beyond imagination.