It always amazes me how Spirit shows up in every single thing we do…in every moment…whether we are consciously aware of it or not. If we’re not aware of it, it is only because we choose not to be aware. In that moment we choose to be aware of something else…our pain, our issues…where ever the ego leads us.
This week, as I process my own pain, I am reminded (constantly!) that every moment, every point, every instance, in life’s journey is inherently preparing us for our future in ways that the ego mind cannot possibly comprehend. I know I’m getting this message because I’ve been trying to figure out (in my mind!) just why my body is doing what it is doing, and how I can make it respond a different way that suits me better. I’m laughing like crazy as I write this! If you can’t hear the irony in that sentence it is because you are doing the same thing, but not realizing it.
Listening to your “self” talk can be absolutely eye opening! We can learn so much if we would just pay attention to the words we use when talking to ourselves…and others too. First, did you catch how I was trying to do this all in my mind. The mind will never comprehend, nor will it be able to solve any (ANY) issue I am having. All of that occurs within, where the Truth lives and understands the Path. Then…did you hear me say that I wanted to make my body respond differently? In a way that suits ME better? LOL Seriously, I know better than that. By forcing something different on the situation all I am doing is frustrating myself and resisting my path. Yea, it’s painful physically sometimes, but if I were to just relax into it, it would move much faster. I know this!!! But, yes, sometimes I still get ‘stuck’ too.
If we could just relax into the moment, instead of trying so hard to make it something different, it wouldn’t hurt so much. We are raised to not believe in mystery, in Spirit. We are taught that we have to have a plan; we have to have a goal. We are raised to believe that we have to have a good job, good marriage, good kids, good whatever…in order to have a good life…down the road. Down the road! No wonder we can’t relax into anything.
We are rarely taught to trust in the Divinity of Spirit. We are rarely taught to relax into what is in life as opposed to what it will be. We are taught to focus on the future, and rarely taught to be in the present. All of the things we are taught to work so hard for…a job, marriage, kids, etc…are supposed to bring joy at the end of the line. However, Joy can only be found in one place at a time…and that place is the present.
It doesn’t matter where we are going tomorrow; it matters where we are right now. If we don’t find the joy in today, we certainly aren’t going to find it tomorrow. We will find in tomorrow exactly what we find in today. Like I said, sometimes it is hard to find the joy in the pain that we are having today.
I am participating in a workshop currently and last week we were discussing problems and how to come up with solutions to the problems. We were asked to pair up and discuss a current problem, and then come up with a solution to that problem. When my partner and I paired up we both looked at each other and said the same thing…I don’t have any problems. We both laughed at the prospect, but it was true. When it came time for us to share with the class what we came up with, we of course announced that we had no problems. I found it funny how the entire class went silent…except for one gentleman. He said “Of course! You’re perfect!” He was being sarcastic…completely sarcastic. Their responses were all basically the same “How can you not have any problems?”
I don’t have any problems because I don’t see the issues in my life as problems. I see them as life and steps that Spirit guides me through in my evolution. How can anything Spirit moves me through be a problem? I mean, honestly, almost any experience can be miserable and considered a problem if you make it that way…especially if you’re good at making yourself miserable. But…on the other side of that…almost any experience can be enjoyable if you make it that way…especially if you’re good at practicing joy!
I find that most people can’t trust what is occurring in the present because it doesn’t look like what they want it to look like. Hence…it’s painful. We are so trained to believe that life should take on a certain look and feel, that anything outside of that is resisted. We are trained to look to the future and work damn hard at getting there, that we completely push aside what is currently sitting in front of us. “Well, what if I don’t like what I am sitting in?” Well, have you tried asking Spirit why it looks the way it does? What is the ‘lesson’ in the moment? Have you tried, sincerely, looking at the moment with an open heart to discover where Spirit lives in it? I promise you, Spirit is not painful, nor does Spirit bring us anything that is painful. It is not Spirit’s motive!
Do we need to know everything that lies ahead of us in order for us to relax into it and trust? Do we need to know where we’ll be tomorrow before we start to live today? That’s just crazy? What is holding you back from living today…that wouldn’t hold you back tomorrow? And seriously, if you can’t put down your fear today what makes you think you’ll put it down tomorrow? Why are you holding onto it? Is it keeping you safe from something? Oh yeah, wait, it keeps you safe from being hurt. That’s really funny, because you know that you are already hurting. Your fear doesn’t keep you safe from hurt, it creates it for you.
This life is not about what the heck is out there tomorrow. It’s about what is inside now. When people call me for an appointment I often tell them that I am not a fortune teller, I do not tell the future…I tell the present. That confuses the crap out of a lot of people. It’s what is going on in the present that keeps us from knowing our Joy. Tomorrow isn’t going to bring you your Joy, today is. It’s not the path ahead that’s important, it’s the path WITHIN.
So, with that huge reminder in my today, I’m going to spend some time in that beautiful space of Spirit. Have a fabulous day, ya’ll!
Sending much Love!
Trish
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