Finding Your Own Way

As I write this, it is nearly October, harvest time. Driving down the lane, through the woods this morning, signs were everywhere. The leaves, drenched in russet, gold, and autumn shades of green. Three deer paused in the act of eating breakfast from a neighbor’s garden. Their brown, velvety coats, simply beautiful. Mother Nature has designed magnificent creatures.

And then, I thought of you, and began to wonder just what might be useful for me to share with you, at this particular time in your life. You and I have seen the news. Isn’t it funny how obsessed we can be on what is not going well? Despite our Monkey Mind’s preoccupation with worry and doubt, Mother Nature continues unfolding Her seasons, despite our inattention.

One of the most important things I’ve learned from Her is the necessity of trusting the process. She is an ever present teacher of the truth ‘…for everything there is a season….’ Not a day goes by when I am not reminded that no matter what is before me, it is simply a part of the process of becoming all that I came here to be. Maybe today’s harvest is abundant. Perhaps, it is scarce. No matter. Whatever’s here, the fact is that if I trust the process, if I just ‘lean into’ what comes, with the attitude that whatever comes is ‘for me,’ then magical things can happen.

This is easier on some days than others. Several weeks after my only son was killed, I had a dream in which he told me the key to life. It has everything to do with receiving whatever we are given with complete trust, and acting on this in corresponding ways. We are here not only to love, but to serve love in our own original ways. This is our Way.

Our Ways differ. But, what each shares is the reality that we begin with a single step. We place our foot down on the ground of our experience, making contact with what is so for us, and take a risk. Maybe we don’t know which way to turn for awhile. At those junctures, I’ve found it helpful to return to the words of Carl Jung who said: “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart.”

This is the process that I trust. This is the action that seeds the most bountiful harvest. This is the core conversation I have with my own Spirit that redirects me in ways that bring me home to peace. More often than not, this singular act reminds me of the necessity of a continuing fierce simplification of my days and nights, so that I am free to be me.

What I know with 100% certainty is that you and I have come here to make a difference. What I know with 100% certainty is that you were given gifts, talents to contribute to our world’s harvest. We need you, as is.