Childhood Holds the Key to Your Purpose

Do you feel you’re living your life the way it was meant to be? If not, then the key to your purpose is hidden away in your childhood. Look deep within and remember what it was that got your attention and excited you and that will be the purpose you were supposed to follow. Maybe you had more than one–lucky you! But know, there is at least one.

Sometimes life gets in the way and purpose gets lost in the shuffle, but you can always find it again. Until you find and follow your purpose you will never be completely happy. There will always be something missing.

It doesn’t matter what your obligations are, how much time in a day you have, or how old you are, because it’s never too late to find and follow your purpose.

Close your eyes and go back to the discover days of your childhood. Your purpose is there somewhere. Maybe it’s hiding in the toy box of dreams, or at your best friend, Betty’s house. Probably it got lost on your wedding day, or most likely when the first baby came along. We all have junk drawers, maybe it’s been there all long.

“The words on the tombstone read: Died at 30; buried at 60. This is the risk you take when you stop taking risks.”

~ Robert Holden

You were born for a reason; don’t be afraid, go and find it.

Dissolving Expectations

Expectations high and low from you and others will always cause everything around to explode.

We come into the world and find expectations awaiting us from parents filled with hopes and dreams of what they think just should be. As our journey moves forward those expectations grow on and on from teachers, bosses, lovers, and even our own blessed young. Each expectation is always in danger of not measuring up leaving unhappiness, disappointment, anger and even disgust. And what about those we have of ourselves, and those low ones that cause us to self-destruct?

The best way to deal with expectations is to not have them in the first place, but this is a bit unreasonable even for me to believe. So I say, let’s be aware when they appear and dissolve them as quickly as can be. Make a conscious effort to practice Letting Go. “Nonresistance, non judgment, and nonattachment are the three aspects of true freedom and enlightened living.” ~ Eckhart Tolle.

The practice of “Letting Go” makes it possible for you to flow and concentrate on what’s really important. It gets rid of the petty things that keep you a prisoner. When your mind is open you are truly free, and pleasantly surprised how everything fits so perfectly. You are able to accept the people around you without preconceived ideas, and you become accepting of who you are. No more feeling worn out trying to fulfill someone else’s dreams. “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.” ~ Eckhart Tolle.

Expectations are just something that you and everyone else just dug up and decide to make into some silly law. Practice dissolving them when they pop up and one day you’ll find them not. Stop hitting your head against that big brick wall and realize life doesn’t have to be so complicated after all.

Anxiety

 

“Whenever you become anxious or stressed, outer purpose has taken over, and you lost sight of your inner purpose. You have forgotten that your state of consciousness is primary, all else secondary.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

Breathe deeply and center yourself, taking away all worry and concern. Your anxiety only thrives because you are keeping it alive. Don’t accept that this is your fate, but instead, change your perspective on what you think.

Fight for the right of who you want to be, and who you are, and don’t let your anxiety drive you to misery. Anxiety becomes an unwanted passenger on your journey, so rip that monkey off your back and go it all alone once more.

You know you’re not you when you let that little bugger take hold, so figure out what all this apprehension is about. Make a plan, and take a stand for the who you really are.

If left unchecked anxiety will steal your show kicking all of the things important to you out the door, while you my friend, will find yourself sleeping in a living hell.

Anxiety serves no useful purpose in your precious life; at best, it’s just a bore. So, after you cast it away, breathe deep once more and say, “Heck, it was just a habit I picked up along the way.”

The Runaway Life

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”  ~ Dr.Seuss

Do you sometimes feel that your life has gotten away from you? All the plans you had when you were young did they turn out the way you had envisioned? Most of the time our lives don’t turn out the way we thought they would, but that doesn’t mean they’re not the way they are supposed to be.

As you travel along on your journey, sometimes you make a turn along the way that puts you on a path that leads to a completely different life than the one you thought you were going to have. As long as you are having a good life where you are happy and fulfilled, then the turn you took so long ago was the right choice, and was really the life you are supposed to have. But what if that turn wasn’t? Then it’s time to make some changes.

You are in charge of your life even if it doesn’t always feel that way. If you are experiencing a runaway life then stop, take a deep breath and think about what you really want. You have the power to change your life and to live it on your own terms. You just need to make up your mind on what you really want. Sure there will be some modifications from what you envisioned when you were younger, but maybe that’s a good thing.

Perhaps that turn you took so long ago gave you some grief and is still making your life miserable. Maybe there was a lesson you had to learn through your experience. Life is all about learning lessons. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t live the life you were meant to live. Take the steps needed–whether it’s going back to school, starting a new career, or ending a relationship, and begin to get yourself back on the path where your dreams are waiting for you.

Put wings on those dreams and fly high in the sky
bumping up against clouds where angels reside and all your dreams will then come alive.

Change

“The only constant thing in life is change.”
~ Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Change can be hard especially if it’s not a welcome change. But change is part of life and therefore part of your journey. Nothing stays the same forever no matter how hard you try to hold on to it. When you learn to accept that, then life becomes more secure and peaceful. Fighting change never works, it just makes it more painful.

Change for children can be extremely hard, but we as nurturers can lessen the burden by loving them and opening up the door of communication so they can express their fears, sadness and anger. In doing this, you as a parent can become closer to your child as the child realizes that change is hard for you too, and that together, you will both get through it.

I know from working with children in bereavement that they have a great desire to express themselves and want to be heard, but sometimes they find that hard to do because the pain of loss is too great. In helping them deal with the loss, it is also important to help them handle the changes in their life. Children  need to know that their life will go on even though it has changed and that the sadness and loss they feel today will ease with time.

Through the changes in life, learn to flow through all of it. Sometimes it’s hard when the sea is very rough and you are not sure what direction to take. In those times, just close your eyes and draw from the strength of your Spirit and it will guide you safely into the harbor.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them — that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
~ Lao Tzu

You

“You don’t get what you want; you get what you are.”
~ Wayne Dyer

Only you have the power to change your life. You and only you make the rules and can create, or change your destiny. No one can hurt you unless you let them. Sometimes though, you are the one bringing hurt to your soul.

You set the limits on how far you will soar by putting up the stop and caution signs along the path of your journey. Remember, you make the rules, you are in control, so if you want no restrictions along the way, stop putting up the signs.

You are a magnificent being capable of doing so much good, but sometimes you are captivated by the dark side and end up destroying the one thing you should protect–Yourself. Stay on the path your Spirit has chosen and don’t let the ego take you on short cuts that end up becoming dead-end streets.

Take responsibility for the mistakes you make and learn from them because mistakes are part of your journey, and let’s face it, how can you possibly learn without them. Forgive yourself and others who have harmed you because you can’t move on and grow without forgiveness. Always vow to be a better you.

You do have what it takes to succeed on this journey of your life. Trust your gut and your beautiful heart, and walk gently on this planet being kind to every innocent creature that comes your way. Know in your heart that you, only you, can make a difference simply by believing in yourself and knowing that you’re here for a purpose.

Always remember, there is only one of you and that is why you are unique.

“Be a blessing to everyone you meet today.” ~ Robert Holden

Hurt

Humans are fragile beings. We feel and get hurt a lot. One of the things we need to learn as we travel on our life’s journey is that we will experience pain from hurt at different times on this journey, but that doesn’t mean we have to suffer. We need to accept the hurt and go through the pain as a part of our journey, then we need to release it and go on. If we hold on to the hurt we will start to suffer, and there is no end to suffering if we let it take over.

One of the best things to do once you deal with your hurt and go through the pain is to get involved in helping your fellow-man. Volunteering your time is a wonderful way to not only help others but also help yourself to live more by your Spirit and less by the ego. The ego is all about me, me, me, and it will keep you in the suffering mode.

Letting your hurt go and getting out and helping in your community not only helps others and builds a better community, but it grows your Spirit and gives you a life full of depth and purpose. Sometimes when we are feeling hurt we get lost on our journey and forget what our purpose in living is all about. Hurt can cloud our thinking and we can get too involved with ourselves and the ego kicks in with that me, me, me, thing.

Learn to deal with the pain of hurt and then get out from under yourself and do some good by helping someone else. You will grow stronger by doing this and all the hurts along your journey will not develop into a suffering pattern that you drag along with you. When you think about yourself too much you feed the hurt and keep it alive.

Remember, life is meant to be happy and only you can control where and how far the hurt you are feeling today will go.

Spirit

Close your eyes and feel your Spirit; it is calm and unassuming.

Ego is anything but calm, and can be arrogant.

Spirit speaks softly to you, and always respects your free will.

Ego respects nothing and fills your body with poison.

Spirit is the little voice that whispers, “You can do this.”

Ego yells, “Don’t even try; you know you will fail.”

Spirit sits back and waits for your call to help.

Ego is so dominant that we just let it take over, but it never helps us.

Spirit is your Higher Self and wants you to become one with it, but ego works hard to edge it out and wins too often.

Negative feelings are ego speaking loudly to you.

Positive feelings are always Spirit gently guiding you.

Close your eyes and feel your Spirit; flow as one because it’s who you really are.

Trust

Trust in the person you are becoming.

Trust you will be okay.

Trust that you are on a mission and won’t stop until it’s completed.

Trust in the love others give to you.

Trust that you are smart and can do anything you put your mind to.

Trust that you know what’s best for you.

Trust that you’re not alone on your journey.

Trust in the universe, and accept with open arms whatever it
gives you.

Trust there’s a reason for everything no matter how hard.

Trust you can live your life without your life living you.

And… above all else, trust in your dreams because one day they will become your reality.

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”   ~ Golda Meir

Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn, the author of Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness, says “Mindfulness is moment to moment non-judgmental awareness, cultivated by paying attention.”  But how do you accomplish that when your world is busy and loud? It can be hard at times–especially when you have four children of various ages demanding your attention at the same time! I experienced that last summer, and I wasn’t mindful at all.

In times when you are tired and stressed to the max as I was last summer, the best thing to do is stop whatever negative thoughts (like yelling) enter your mind. Then take a deep breath and center yourself. Listen–really listen to the problem at hand and then… give them all popsicles to keep them quiet! Just kidding. The best thing to do in a stressful situation is to stay in the present moment and calmly handle what is before you. Or as Indira Gandhi said: “You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.”

Stay mindful by learning to feel connected to all that surrounds you. You do this by paying attention to nature and to the people around you. You forget about yourself and all your concerns and stay present in each moment you move into. In this union of mindful connection you become one with the universe and all negative thoughts of the past and fears of the future fade away. They cannot stay unless you nourish them. And as Reuben Lowe says of the past: “Without mindful awareness, the shadows of your past may haunt your present.”

It is important to bring yourself to mindfulness when you feel that life has beaten you down and you have lost your way. When that happens, your life is out of balance. The only way to get yourself back into balance is to bring yourself to the present moment and connect to something calming. For me it’s nature and silence. Whatever it is for you, just do it for your well-being.

When you are mindful, your connection to everything is so powerful that you realize you are part of something bigger than yourself. You are part of the universe and have a reason for being. And isn’t that what our lives are supposed to be about?