We always want the easy solution, the one thing that will make everything click, the three-step program that will guarantee happiness every day, less stress, a sexy body, lots of money, a hottie who adores us, a purposeful job that allows us to travel. (Oh, and would it be too much to ask if we could also have our own beautifully designed home?)
That’s why we read self-help books, follow the advice of people wiser than us (and maybe even read this note).
The good news: What if I tell you that everything they’ve said is right?
Your thoughts become your reality.
Meditate.
Slow down.
Be grateful.
Allow space for miracles and grace.
Feel your feelings so you can be their master and not the other way around.
Be kind to yourself.
Happiness is not a destination. It’s in the now.
Accept your life for what it is, not how you want it to be.
The bad news: The way we learn these truths may not be easy or through a three-step program.
Because it really is all about your journey.
And your evolution as both a human being and a spiritual one.
And you have to learn the lessons in your own way, in your own time.
Maybe you need to move fast before you realize the gift of slowing down. Or maybe you have to fill your head with too many things before you appreciate the silence that meditation offers. Maybe you need to head somewhere first to understand the concepts of journey and destination. Or maybe you need to keep making the same mistake over and over until you decide to make a new choice.
Maybe you’ll try powering through learning these in your usual over-achieving way, knowing that if you study it hard enough or long enough, it’s bound to stick (spoiler alert: it won’t).
Maybe you’ll get it by practicing these truths over and over again.
You might try one thing and after months (or even years!) of doing it, you’ll finally understand why it’s a game changer.
Or maybe you will be given the gift of grace so that these will click (especially the last truth).
Or maybe you will learn because of an unexpected event that blindsides you and makes you wake up and realize what’s important and what you want (that’s what happened to me). Although this way lies immense grief and extreme discomfort that comes from shedding your skin and unlearning what you know, you will recognize that this too is grace.
I want to let you know that understanding these lessons, while not always easy, will always be worth it and you will figure them out when you need to, I promise.
I’m wishing us all kindness this May as we navigate this life and figure out what matters and learn the lessons with as much grace as we can muster, even if we have to do it over and over again.
Photo by Umberto del Piano on Unsplash.com.
This is an excerpt from this month’s Joyful Little Note, my newsletter that will add some inspiration and mindfulness to your month or even just your day. Subscribe by filling up the form below.
