Hope Floats

I spent my whole adult life struggling, fighting against the current. So adamant that I was going in the right direction. The world was wrong. It was continual cycles of bad luck and bad karma for something I had done wrong in a prior life. I was cursed. If I just tried harder, I'd break through. That's what I would tell myself.

What an extraordinary shift to have this new understanding that the universe wasn't working against me. It was working for me by making the wrong path unbearably hard. In hindsight, it seems so simple. But all the muck that gets piled on us really can block our vision. There are those, like me, who will double down in our determination without knowing how blind we are.

Now that the blinders are off and my vision is clearer, I find myself more aware of what comes easy and what doesn't. Increasing faith and more honed intuition are now my guidance system.

It still gets a little muddy sometimes and I still have to fight off old patterns of resistance, but I can tell you that those moments are far less prevalent now.

The things that fight against the current, I now remind myself that I can let them go.

• Some things I can swat away. I even envision a tennis racquet hitting away a tennis ball and I say to myself, "This isn't for me."

• In some situations, it can't be an immediate release and I have to keep reminding myself that whatever it is, it's temporary. If it's not caused by my old behaviors, I trust that it's a matter of timing. I'm being prepared for or protected from something. When it's hard, I understand that the call is there for patience or greater awareness to course correct. That is still something that I thank God for.

More and more often, I'm learning to float with the rhythms of life that surround me. Knowing that the current is still flowing, no matter where I am or how I feel, now brings great comfort.

We are held.

We are guided.

We all have a purpose to learn and to love.

No one is being punished with struggle and strife. Those are the clues to help us understand that we need to realign.

Hope floats - when you stop swimming against the current.

God's Will Be Done

We hear it all the time. A sound byte offered in the face of tragedy, confusion, or heartbreak:

"It's God's will."

I heard the words again recently related to a death.

People mean well, I know. It's meant for comfort. People want to believe it. It's easier that way, isn't it?

That simple sentence removes all human frailty.

It allows us to lay it all at God's feet as if we have no responsibility in the circumstance.

As if we have no free will.

As if we have no choices.

My reaction was one of sadness... for God.

I wonder how often we break God's heart by blaming Him for the choices we make, the human circumstances we stagnate in, or tragedies that we have no control over.

What came to me with complete clarity is that we can hold space for human pain without blaming it on a divine plan. I do not believe that God's intent is ever to hurt us. His will is not about orchestrating human suffering.

God provided us with an extraordinary human experience to learn and grow from.

He gifted us free will - because love isn't bound.

He whispers to us through intuition.

He waits while we walk... with or without Him.

He provides a universe of connectedness full of light and breadcrumbs to help us find our way.

He hopes with the greatest power that can exist.

How we receive this and what we do with it is something we hold complete responsibility for.

In truth, He is the one who never leaves us  - even in our darkest of moments and choices.

The reframe, to me, is... God isn't something done to us. His will for us is love, creativity, peace, growth, compassion... and divinity. I believe God's will is for us to find the place in ourselves where He lives and to live as He wills.

So the next time you hear someone say, "It's God's will," maybe pause and give Him the grace He deserves.

Written In The Stars

Most of us look up at the stars almost every day. We take a brief look and go about our business without even realizing that they are speaking to us.

The stars above tell a story unique to each of us. We may not see it, but we most certainly feel it without ever knowing. The moments we struggle, the moments we flow, the moments we feel aligned. They are all written in the stars.

We believe in cycles all the time - like seasons, hormones, and even the stock market. We see with our own eyes how the moon effects the tide.

Astrology is just another way of noticing cycles within ourselves. It's pattern recognition. It's a gift from the Creator to help guide us through our soul journey.

Do you really think He'd place us on this miraculous planet with these sophisticated bodies and everything else around us be meaningless? Absolutely not.

We are given tools as guidance systems. We are setup to succeed if we only dare to explore and open ourselves to more understanding of the magnificence that surrounds us and lies within us.

God's help for each of us is literally written in the stars. He covers us with it every night.

There doesn't have to be any stigma or fear.

We can take what resonates.

We can leave whatever doesn't.

It's always there waiting like an unopened present.

Because knowledge is a gift.

So is the courage to receive it.