what's meant to be will always find its way

I recently heard a song I loved in High School by Trisha Yearwood.  The song is titled "She's in love with the boy" and the chorus has the line, "what's meant to be will always find its way".  I started to think about that line.  I believe that.  What's meant to be WILL always find its way.  I can see from my life that that has always been the case.  I remember my Senior year of college, sitting on my bed, crying, after a hugely successful event on campus that I managed because on my way home, I had stopped to check the mail and got a rejection letter from Cooper and Lybrand internal consulting.  It was my dream job - the one I wanted.  I got rejected.  I only had one other place left that I had applied and not yet heard from, Andersen Consulting.  They were supposed to let me know by that day too and had not.  That night I had heard from someone else that they had heard from Andersen and I hadn't.  I assumed that meant I did not get that job either.  I was devastated and scared.  I did not know if I would have a job when I graduated.  Mind you, it was November, Senior Year, but in overachieverville, this was bad news. I sat on my bed crying while my bestie and parents sat next to me.  They had come out for the big event.  And, instead of celebrating at the end of the success, I was on my bed, crying.  I spent that entire weekend depressed thinking that I would be the only person from Georgetown graduating without a job lined up.  I felt like a failure.  On Monday morning, I got a call from Andersen letting me know I got the job. They called one group on Friday and my group, which was a different department, on Monday.  That job was one of the best experiences of my life and put me on an amazing path.  I am grateful every day for my time at Andersen Consulting.

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That is just one example of things working out.  I have millions.  And, my guess is, you do too... if you think about it.  Things do always work out.  While we are going through the worst part of it, there are moments where we think, "this is truly terrible".  And, in that moment, that feeling is real.  But, like the Monday morning phone call, there is always a miracle around the corner.  And, the miracle may not be getting the exact job, it might be something all together different.  I really wanted the other job, but in truth, I have realized, I do not know what is best for me.  Coopers no longer exits, Andersen Consulting is now Accenture and still opens doors for me 12 years after I left. Sometimes things in our life have to fall apart for the bigger, better, more aligned thing to come in. We all know that. But, we also can tend to forget it when life seems to be going not according to our big, beautiful plans for ourselves.  In those moments, I find this to saying to be helpful - what's meant to be will always find its way.  

What's meant to be will always find its way.

The power is that is that there is nothing to do.  Like being in out of control rapids, sometimes you have to realize that you just have to hold on and get through a rough patch.  Not falling in is success.  We tend to want to be in control and at the top of our game for everything.  Sometimes, the top of our game is just holding on.  Another quote I love from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams:  "What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?"  To which, Maggie the Cat replies, "Just staying on it, I guess, as long as she can."  Very rarely does life need you to jump.  If you can sit patiently with the discomfort, it will pass, and what is new will come through.  It always does.  The rain always stops and the sun shines again.  Winter always transitions to spring.  And, what is meant to be, always finds its way.

The next time you find yourself worrying and unsure about what might happen next, remind yourself, that there is nothing to do.  This one spiritual practice could change your life.  We tend to want to jump in, fix, discuss, analyze, be sad, be mad, take charge, hide under the covers, etc.  But, in reality, there is nothing to do but to ride it out with as much peace as you can find.  In these times, remind yourself, that this is God/Higher Power giving you an opportunity to release and let go and rely on it to get you through.  It is our reminder that we are not in control.  It is our reminder that we don't have to figure it all out on our own.  And, most importantly, it is a reminder that no matter how alone we may feel, we are SO not alone.  There is a benevolent, loving force that is handling things for us from the other side.  This force brought us to this situation, the one that we think is terrible, and has us on our knees so that it can bring us out on the other side to a much better outcome - every time.  I realize some of our life experiences, it may take us our whole lives to see what the better outcome was and some we may not get to know while we are here on earth, but I do believe, every one of our painful moments leads us to something better.  That concept was really reinforced for me after reading about numerous people's near death experiences.  In each case, they were shown the worst moments of their life, and how that led to something so beautiful and good.  A great example of this is Anita Moorjani's story in Dying to be Me.

I end this post with a reminder to myself and to each of you that are reading this - have faith and trust.  There is nothing to do.  There is a wonderful plan unfolding.  Your joy is your indicator on how to follow that plan.  For those of you who have done Joy Challenge, you know in the difficult moments, joy may be a nap, going for a walk, taking a bath, or talking to a friend.  Sometimes, in hard times, joy comes in the simplest forms.  You can create this life to be whatever you want it to be but you don't get to choose how it unfolds, that is where trust and faith come in.  When in pain, do for others.  That can be as small as praying for someone, especially people who have hurt/wronged you, giving money to charity, or spending time with someone (parents, children, etc) and being present.  Giving from your heart always lifts the spirits because it takes the focus off of you and what is or is not working and focuses it on being of service. You create with your thoughts, don't let reality deter you.  Everything has to be created in the mind before it can be created in reality.  Be more dedicated to creating peace and joy in your mind than you are to what circumstances are showing you.  Have great compassion for yourself and everyone else in the situation.  If someone is not doing right by you, it is because of pain within them, not about you. Have compassion for their struggle and have GREAT compassion for yourself.  You too are doing the best that you can.  Find gratitude for all the things that are always going right.  I like to be grateful for my senses, my arms, my legs.  When you are unwell in any way, it is such a reminder of how lucky we are that our bodies work (any part of them) and how much we benefit from that.  It is a very uplifting gratitude practice for me.  During the month of November, we are doing a 30 day gratitude practice in my Facebook Group, Adventures with Amina, based on Pam Grout's book, Thank and Grow Rich.

And, finally, trust that the unfoldment and know that what's meant to be will always find its way.