I continually marvel at how answers to our questions or challenges miraculously appear if we simply listen and take notice of what is around us.
For a long time I have struggled to find the balance between trying to dictate the course of my life and letting Life live through me.
Over the last few days I have received more clarity around this, from a variety of seemingly unrelated sources.
Whilst driving I passed a lady in a wheelchair being pushed along the pavement by a professional carer. I knew it was a professional rather than a friend or relative because the man was wearing a white tunic. It got me thinking about how wonderful the world is that there are so many activities to choose from, that whatever our interests we can find a role, a job, a career, or a hobby that uses our talents and strengths and totally fulfils us.
This led me to looking at the area of trends in education and employment. There are not enough job opportunities for graduates in certain disciplines, droves of people are leaving professions such as teaching and nursing, there’s not a large enough uptake of new students in some areas of science and the pay levels for those in jobs that could be considered more of a vocation do not reflect either that passion or the level of responsibility that those jobs entail.
Rather than run campaigns to recruit more teachers, or offer incentives for science students, maybe we should look at the bigger picture. Could these discrepancies, these shortfalls be telling us to look in new directions, adapt to the changing times rather than trying to compensate for what we think should be happening? Maybe learners will come through a different route. Perhaps traditional structures are breaking down in favour of less hierarchical ways of being. What if we were to allow these new paradigms to show themselves?
I saw how much we could apply this philosophy to our own individual lives too.
I realised that despite my desire to respond to what arises, to go with the flow, I am still not fully trusting Life and surrendering to what wants to emerge through me.
I have substituted trying to learn how to make a living using traditional, linear methods with a new ‘method’ of following my inspiration!
I am still forcing how that appears. I’m still making myself wrong for not being more inspired than I am or for not spending enough time being creative! And I am still being run by old fears and limited thinking.
Over the space of the last few days I received further confirmation that I was still trying to control aspects of my life that are none of my business. Reminders, gentle nudges, pointers to a different way of being.
I had commented on a heartfelt piece of writing from a friend and her response was that ‘ it is more like watching life happening through me. Effortless!’ (click here for original article)
Another friend wrote a brilliant, and humorous, piece on the absurdity of how young children are expected to know what they are going to do when they ‘grow up’, having to fit into conventional boxes rather than being allowed to experiment and explore their natural passions. (click here for original article)
And an email arrived with a link to an Alan Watts video where he stated:
Existence is something that is spontaneous.
The Chinese word for nature is ziran. It means that which happens by itself.
If you don’t let go you’re going to constantly be trying to do what can happen healthily only if you don’t try.
We have a strange anxiety in us, that if we don’t interfere it won’t happen.
There is no mistaking the messages. Life knows what it’s doing!
My job is not to second-guess it, only to listen and respond. To get out of my own way, step into the flow of limitless possibilities and surrender to something far far greater than me!
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