When your plans for yourself are not what has been planned for you…you must surrender.  You must surrender to the fact that you are not in control!  We really think we know what is best.  What is best for ourselves, what is best for others, what is best for the world, etc, etc, etc.  But the reality is that there is (clearly) something far greater that has a much larger hand and influence of arrangement over some of these circumstances.

Not only that – but if *we* were in charge of everything that happened to us…where do you think we would be?  Would we make all of the right choices for ourselves?  How would we know what lessons need to be learned?  And would we create circumstances to teach ourselves those lessons?  I think not.  Most of us would likely create a reality based on our perfect image.  Keyword – our perfect image…not necessarily the image that is perfect for us.

What would that look like?  For a lot of people, it would look like nice clothes, the fanciest bag, the sleekest car, the nicest house, the best of friends, the perfect job where we get to exercise all of our greatest skills and talents (although, what would be the point of that if everyone else is living their perfect life too and have no use for our innovation or creativity?), and whatever else you can think of to create a life of glorious content.

Think about this.  This goes down a rabbit hole rarely explored.  And one that should be looked at if we, for a moment, think that we are in charge here…

I can recall a time in my life where I flat out refused to listen to the voice tugging at me, saying, “This is wrong…No…go the other way,” for years, in fact!  I was so convinced that I *needed* to make the choices I was making and was so fearful of the unknown abyss that awaited me on the other side if I were to listen to that nudging voice, that I forced myself to stay in and try to nurture situations that were absolutely wrong for me.

I must have believed to a far enough extent that *I* knew better…that my choices for myself at the time, instead of stopping…asking…listening…and in a sense, surrendering to trust that I would be shown the next step if I only went in the direction I was really being guided (a direction I did NOT want to go in because I was terrified of what might happen to me if I left my comfort zone, which was ironically incredibly uncomfortable!) were the choices I should make.

Welp, here’s where it gets really fun.  Regardless what *we* think is right for us – we will ultimately be ushered into the place we are supposed to be, whether that is with our enthusiasm or against our will.  And that place we are ushered to…will be more right for us than anything we could have ever dreamt up or planned ourselves.  Doors will open.  We will meet people we never thought we would meet.  Miracles will happen.  Circumstances will arrange themselves in a way that only a true artist of creation could facilitate.  Beyond magic.

Of course thats usually after the natural disasters happen that completely reshape our landscape…but I think once we go through a nice enough volcano explosion of reality-reshaping – the lava covering all and hardening to form a crust that eventually grows beautiful lush, tropical foliage… after pulling what we thought we knew from our fingertips…we learn to listen.  We learn to listen, and we learn to trust.  We learn that we are not in charge.

There are always subtle knowing messages of guidance that come often in the form of a very small, muted voice…or a feeling in our body…or just a general “sense” of something. But when we’re fearful, those cues usually are not enough to sway us.  We hang on for dear life to the swinging vines above that lava…instead of heeding the rumblings of the mountain ahead of time.  And we will always be given a second chance.  Life is regeneratively forgiving, and wants us to thrive and be successful…but we can help this along, and in the end, be more available for others and to truly serve our higher purpose if we will allow ourselves to be guided.  If we will try to listen, know that we don’t always know best…to ask for those answers and to be shown the right way…it will always open up.

I didn’t choose my path.  I finally surrendered, and allowed myself to be guided.  This time, by the right thing.