What is a "Setback"?

As I seemingly mull through an endless chain of setbacks recently, I wonder what it is I am doing to somehow bring them on. I am a student of positive thinking and the law of attraction; therefore I keep thinking that whatever this is, it is merely a temporary and necessary stepping stone to the more positive goals I have set for myself.

Then today as I receive yet another blow, I decide I have had enough and I now declare war on setbacks. The first step to defeating an enemy, I think, is to learn all about it. So I did a little digging. The results were quite surprising, and that nasty word has become much smaller and less significant now, thanks mostly to Webster’s.

So did you know that the word “setback” actually has several meanings? In addition to the horrid “double whammy” or “problem” or “unexpected delay” or any of the other dozen or so words in the synonym list for the word which seems to keep reoccurring in my circumstances, a “setback” is also an architectural term which means, according to dictionary.reference.com:

a recession of the upper part of a building from the building line, as to lighten the structure or to permit a desired amount of light and air to reach ground level at the foot of the building.

Well now! This certainly puts things in a whole new perspective for me. Instead of waging war on this unseen but gruesome enemy, I should be thanking it. Thank you, Mr. Setback, for bringing the right amount of “light and air” down to the ground, so it might reach me at this particular point in my life. I do not know yet the why’s or the what-for’s, but I am happy and thankful to know that this experience is helping me grow toward the very goal which before seemed so evasive and far from reach. I can even feel the energy of my goal growing stronger, as I release the negativity surrounding this setback and embrace all associated in this situation with love and gratitude.

One of the words with similar meaning is an “eddy”, which is a current of air or water running back, or in an opposite direction to the main current, especially a circular current. Now I love thinking of it this way too. I imagine the tornado from the Wizard of Oz, how it blew Dorothy’s whole world around in circles, yet everyone landed safely. If a setback is really just a whirl around, and I get “set back” down in a perhaps wiser place, then.....

Let’s dance!

Wood sculpture, 'Let's Dance' The rich grain of Balinese suar wood takes on unexpected tones in a superbly sculpted figurine. Wayan Rendah depicts a woman who stretches luxuriously on one toe in a joyous dance. Her voluptuous figure and serene curves exalt the human body.

Wood sculpture, 'Let's Dance'