Someone once said: “Write your plans in pencil but give God The eraser.” And so it is with flexibility about where we’re headed. We have a plan, we take actions steps to execute it and in the name of “flowing,” know that life will happen, changes will occur, the unexpected will show up uninvited.
I’m saying that even with the best laid plans, life has a way of changing course and when it does, being open and flowing with what is can often recreate who we are and give us a positive change in return for our grief or pain.
There is a Hassidic saying that “You should be grateful for everything that happens to you, even your pain.” Now even if you don’t feel like it you can change your own atmosphere by engaging in an act of service or saying something sincere of appreciation or encouragement to someone – and just watch your energy change into gratitude. You will shift yourself to a much more positive place.
An excerpt from “Success” by Mychal Wynn reads:
“Success is awarded those
who dream of endless possibilities
Who through determination
And perseverance,
Continue climbing mountains
And following rainbows.
….It is the benefit of these experiences
That give our lives meaning.”
Did you know that expressing gratitude and enveloping yourself in an attitude of gratitude creates better health and lowers risks of depression and high blood pressure. When you express an emotion or inwardly experience an emotion– you amplify it. So fear begets fear. Expressing gratitude amplifies gratitude. Wouldn’t you rather be surrounded by appreciation and thankfulness than a negative sensation?
“Time is not a line, but a series of now points.” ~ Taisen Deshimaru
When you have a great pain in you life – you need a greater purpose. When my marriage broke up I experienced many emotions and loss, even a decent run of numbness. There were days when I felt poorly and truly didn’t know how I was going to get through the day, except to keep putting one foot in from of the other. One thing I did know was I had to keep moving forward. That momentum gave me and saved me as through moving forward I found a greater purpose. Although I’d never been interested in radio in the least, I did take a small job just weeks after my separation, at a radio station and ran a music show. I was never fully sure of why I was there but I kept showing up and assuring myself that if I found the work intolerable I could leave at any time. After two months of showing up I was offered my own show and out poured the program that is now on the air “Dare to Dream.”
I created a radio show that was imbued with my history and my essence – it was metaphysically based, it allowed me to shine the light on great people doing great things, it allowed me to touch many people with the message that there’s another way to do things, there is help and goodness and it is all possible. I wanted people to know they could create their dreams, goals and intentions into their reality. It was so important to me to not just get the message out, but to also teach and show by example. So I created inspiring and motivating show openings full of useful ideas the listeners could use, then brought in very successful people who were aligned with living their passion and doing good for the planet at the same time. It was like sitting in a master class every week. I realized after doing the show for a while that I had found a greater purpose in my life. The show was well received and I got the fantastic feedback from my audience who felt inspired and who inspired me.
Around that time I thought about Italy. The country that had silently stolen my heart – the country I felt so strongly about traveling to, and the country I had been denying myself for over ten years. Yes I’d had a dream of traveling to Italy and never went. And here I was, sans husband, and learning how to put back the pieces of me, and I decided I had to go on the trip alone. I’d grown tired of dreaming, it was time for reality. I planned a 16-day trip by myself through Italy – a trip I designed through the places I most wanted to experience. That October I boarded a plane bound for a place that really excited me. I had an amazing trip – sometimes very alone and sometimes meeting up with different, fun people. It was a dream-come-true, for sure. I used some of the Italian train trips getting from one part of the country to the other as times when I would record an audio journal into an audio player to create MP3s of my trip. Some of the MP3’s became radio shows after I returned.
Because I listened to what was right for me and followed my heart I went on a trip of a lifetime. It was everything I’d dreamed of and much more. Because I had the courage to leave that relationship I unexpectedly created a new career. I had used my pain to create a much higher purpose for myself.
One of the more spiritual times on my Italian trip was spent in Assisi. I did not expect the feelings that came up being there in that beautiful mountainside village with steep streets and old historical churches - being around the Assisi monuments and paintings brought up unknown feelings of deep connection while staying there. In the words of St. Francis of Assisi: “What we are looking for is what is looking.”
So if you are the looker than what you’re looking for is already right there. Trust your path. Trust the surprises that life offers and the places you may end up being as all perfect experiences. Find your greater purpose and courageously put it out there. Let your light shine, let your purpose be expressed, and let your gratitude lead the way. Say “thank you” for everything in your path.
http://www.deborahdachinger.com
