Let's imagine that the following is true: If we are alive, we have challenges.
If this is the case, which I'm pretty certain it is... than why not face these challenges for a cause we are deeply connected to. I believe linking these two dynamics in a relationship is likely to transform our approach to our entire life. Now, I also should clarify that I believe strongly that the purpose of obstacles is to give us opportunities to grow.
So far, we have challenges, passion and growth. Can you begin to put together how these items can work concurrently? I am going to add in another component here and this is where I think things start to get pretty interesting.. That is motivation and courage, related, yet different.
Now we are discussing challenges, passion, growth, motivation and courage. We can fall into a supremely guided existence by incorporating all of these together. I want to discuss an approach to doing this...
We return to the simple fact of being alive, means we have obstacles.
Imagine two scenarios: One is when you know your goal, the other is you do not. Think of a time when you tried to get yourself motivated and had no idea what you were working toward. How did that go for you? Probably wasn't very effective. On the contrary, remember a time where you knew what you were aiming for? I'm sure you had significantly more success in this instance.
What if we each created a gigantic life goal? What if we made our goal of life to live a life deeply committed to what we are passionate about? And then we connected our obstacles to reaching that goal? Can you imagine what this path could look like?
We have one path where we aren't passionate about what we are doing so the obstacles seem.... like a bother.. like they repeat themselves on occasion (This isn't a good thing.. we aren't supposed to repeat the same problems. We are supposed to learn from them and move on). This is the life that so many people are living. They do set some goals.. a vacation, to lose some weight, to buy a house, and many people do reach these goals, but the feelings of satisfaction are fleeting because they don't fulfill our souls. We need to be pursuing paths, each individual needs to be on a journey of discovering what is within their soul that needs to be shared with this world. We all have a unique role and many people are not playing their role and it shows in the reality that we are living in together. Or dying in together.. You decide.
How about an illustration now of the invitation that exists which I am hoping to bring light to by writing about it. The principles I practice which I believe work so well together are personal responsibility, self-awareness and service. We all have a voice within us that wants to be heard. It is usually quite loud and if we don't choose to listen to it, we usually have to drown it out with drugs, alcohol, shopping, sex, etc... Or, you can sit. You sit down and get to know yourself in meditation, that is one avenue to self-awareness. You can also go meet a bunch of new people, you can go try new hobbies, you can learn new skills, you can experiment and learn about yourself.. I highly suggest seeking new experiences in order to discover what you like AS WELL as what you DISLIKE. They are both important. So then you get to a point where you know what you love, because you feel so genuinely happy when you are involved in it. You can explore other articles on my website and other resources about self-awareness. Through self-awareness, we connect with our passions.... Our passion is what drives us, it is what can make us do things we never though were possible. Let's connect our passions to our courage to face the obstacles that come along with life. Let's surrender to the power of our soul's purpose.
Here's an example: Many people in this country are underpaid, and also have more than one job. Sometimes a person's earning potential is set at a certain number and doesn't go any higher, except for a holiday bonus, or maybe overtime opportunities, or a salary increase. Point being, in a fixed income situation, if you are short on money or would like extra money, there's only so many options for us in these situations. This is not to discount the motivated individuals out there who do find ways to hustle on the side.. I just think there are a lot of people who feel like they make what they make and who don't have a lot of control. That is my point, who has the control in this situation? Not usually this individual I am describing.
Picture a different scenario where an individual is working to create what they are passionate about. This path requires a lot of faith, especially if the commitment is 100%. But, if we are meant to live our soul's purpose (which I believe we are). This purpose is supported, and the stronger our commitment is to it, the more miracles can be revealed through this relationship of surrendering to one of the most powerful components of human nature. So this brings me back and begs the question.. if we have to face challenges no matter what, why don't we face them in the name of something we can truly invest in? When we are aware of our passion, we can commit to this passion for a lifetime and continually invest and nurture and grow these gifts. I can speak from experience that no one can take these things away from me, and on the low end.. they make intolerable situations tolerable.. and on the completely other side, they give me so much hope and inspiration to express the most creativity imaginable! I woke up to my passions in 2006 which I had buried beneath toxic relationships and it's a good thing because I went through a terrible depression in 2008 and lost my father in 2010. I'm very grateful I had reconnected with my artistic desires because it not only got me through these challenging times, it made me want to become a better person and I took steps toward that (and haven't stopped since!!).
I believe that inside every person there is a unique purpose and we need to help one another find out what these things are and start working towards it. It can be as simple as just trying new things to see what you really like until you find something. Then you can start building upon this joy and maybe one day you will have the desire to start a business doing something you truly love or you will find deeper fulfillment because you've found something that really makes you feel alive. Our purpose is something we can invest into for an entire lifetime and that is truly a way to grow an investment. So I invite us to consider facing our obstacles for our purpose because nothing is a strong of a motivator to give us the courage to take on these challenges.
I pray this reaches anyone who will be motivated or inspired. Please share and comment. Thank you for reading.
