To the Wanderer who’s “Lost” in the In-Between…

Jan 18

“Here everything has its history, and mine; here is space for the spaceless kingdom of the world's and the psyche's hinterland." - Carl G. Jung

Hey you,

I see you there, in the space between what was and what’s next. I know it feels strange. Disorienting. Possibly like you’ve somehow gotten off track, and like everyone else is barreling forward while you’re suspended in this formless middle place. The Bardo. A purgatory of kinds.

Here’s what I want you to know: you haven’t lost your way.

You’re exactly where miracles happen.

The Void isn’t Empty

I know the world has trained you to see this liminal phase as something to get through quickly, to optimize your way out of…to resolve already. The masculine culture of constant-doing has taught us that if you’re not building, producing, climbing, or checking boxes, you’re “wasting time”. (Watch my tiktok on how you can’t waste time from a spiritual perspective..both Waste and Time are illusory at best.)

But what if I told you that this liminal space—this “void” you’re in—isn’t empty at all?

It’s full. It’s rich. It’s archetypal medicine. It’s alive and brimming with promise. It’s full of things that have been trying to get your attention for months, years, maybe generations, maybe lifetimes.

All those seasons when you were busy, something within you got quieter because there just wasn’t room for those glimmers to come through. It was crowded out by the noise.

Now there’s void, the cosmic womb from which All is ever-emerging.

What the Darkness Wants for You

This phase, like winter soil, looks as if nothing is happening from above ground. It appears growth is stagnant or dormant. But beneath the surface, everything essential is taking place. Roots are deepening. Nutrients are being absorbed. The foundation for springtime is already coming together slowly, hidden from your conscious awareness.

The yin (the receptive, the still, the dark) isn’t less valuable than the yang, although we live within a patriarchal paradigm that falsely assume that the ying means weak, slow, null. But yin seasons are where integration happens. This is where you can ask the questions that the busy seasons don’t make room for:

What do I actually want (not what I think I should want)?
What matters to me when no one’s watching or measuring?
What parts of myself did I set aside to keep up/fit in?
What wants to be born through me that I’ve been too busy to notice?
Who am I becoming in this liminal season?

You Don’t Need to Know Everything Yet

When I was in my funemployment era, the well meaning choir would come around to check on me. But it felt more like survilence. And I know the folks in your life might think they’re helping when they ask: “So what’s next for you?” “What’s the plan?”

And in that moment you might want to scream and run. But you can smile and say, “I’m in the exploration phase.”

Because you are and that’s a powerful statement. You don’t owe anyone else answers nor do you need to have answers yet.

My advice? Give yourself the permission to try things on and take them off. Brush off old hats and browse for new ones. You’re allowed to have SPACE to experiment, to be curious with child-like wonder. You are allowed to follow threads that interest you without knowing where they lead.

Discomfort as Information

Yes, this phase is uncomfortable. The not-knowing, the lack of structure, the way people sometimes look at you with concern. It’s easy to internalize that as failure.

But here’s the thing: not all discomfort = inherently wrong. Sometimes discomfort means you’re growing, or it means you’re learning to trust yourself in a new way on a new path. Sometimes it means you’re finally letting yourself desire what you actually want instead of what you’ve been told to want by society to want. Learn to tell the difference between the discomfort that whispers pay attention to clue you into something more profound happening beneath the optics versus the kind that signals there’s something ‘wrong’. Take it all in as data. This liminality teaches you to witness and listen.

What to Do While You’re Here

Since you’re here anyway, and since rushing through won’t actually get you where you need to go any faster, here are some things worth your attention:

Notice what energizes you.Not in the flashy and obvious ways, but in the small ones. What makes you lean forward? What do you find yourself thinking about in the shower? What lights you up in conversation? These are the illumination of breadcrumbs lighting your way forward.

Explore and try new things on Take that glassblowing class. Have that awkward af conversation. Read that book you got a while back but is now just collecting dust. Day-travel to the town over. Not because it has to lead somewhere or eventually turn into a productive venture, but because it interests you...ya know…for FUN??!! remember fun??
Tend to what’s emerging Pay attention to the thoughts, feelings, and desires that come up when you’re bored. They’re emerging now because there’s finally space for them.Give them the undivided attention they deserve.
Question your pre-existing assumptions What stories are you telling yourself about who you’re supposed to be? What timetables are you holding yourself to that aren’t actually yours? What would you do differently if you trusted that your path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s?
Let yourself rest. REAL bone-level rest. The kind that isn’t earned or justified or for the sake of productivity. Your nervous system has likely been running on high for a while. And it’s hard for the new to emerge if we are still running the programs of the old.

The Point isn’t to Get Somewhere Else

Here’s a shift I want to invite: What if this in-between time isn’t just a bridge to cross as quickly as possible? What if this space—this exact space you’re in right now is where you get to choose wholeness in a way you haven’t before…

I know it feels that you’re “lost”. And it’s only exacerbated when everyone else is bustling along, and you’re made more aware that you’re standing in the middle of unmarked territory.

The quote we always hear rings true: not all who wander are lost. To which I’d add: They’re way-finding. They’re discovering. They’re learning to recalibrate and lead by their own internal compass. They are listening to their intuition.

And all of this takes stillness. It is a commitment to the inner world and to trust the process. You’re safe to be in the dark for a while and maybe even enjoy it. Which brings me to my final point…

The void isn’t here to punish you. The darkness isn’t an indictment on your worthiness.

The imago dei is formed in the darkroom of life.

So take your time here. Let the clocks melt. Release your resistance to having it figured out. Let the darkness nourish you. Let the questions ripen into a renaissance of becoming. Let yourself root down deep before you reach up and out into the light again. You’re not behind. You’re not off track. You’re not doing it wrong.

Change will happen naturally, I promise.

For now, you’re exactly where you need to be.

Love,

Christina