Sometimes you feel as though you're at wit's end, discouraged, disappointed, broken down, and beyond yourself that this year didn't go very quite as well as you had expected. But before you throw in your towel, take a 2nd look at your year and what has taken place. Did you have some good experiences? Did you learn some lessons? Did you find truth? Did you experience miracles? Did you show or receive love? Then, perhaps it's not as bad as you think it was? I know initially, experiencing a rather forlorn holiday, I felt as though I had rolled over more resolutions to next year than my roll-over minutes. Sure I had experienced much beauty for a greater period of the year, but the not so good moments seemed to suck that much happiness away from me, as opposed to all the beauty that were now simply memories. Remember whenever you feel like this you must quickly and earnestly pull yourself out of this negativity; for you attract what you think or believe. For you can be the sweetest person, the kindest person, the most sincere, and if you 'feel sorry' for yourself or fall from grace, that's sadly just where you'll stay. Its okay to grieve, just don't stay there for too long; you've got to be resilient, and it's not the easiest of feats, so feel free to ask the Universe for help. Don't be hard on yourself; even the greatest men had low moments and much melancholy.
In Trinidad & Tobago, 'Put dat in yuh pipe and smoke it' is a very common saying, which basically means 'Listen to what I am telling you carefully, because it's the wisest most brilliant words you'll ever hear'. And so accept this to be true, I hope that you certainly do put that into your wooden pipes and take a long and hard pull. Despite the disappointments, shortcomings, financial strains, lost love, car-accidents, death, tears, etc. etc. etc. you must think of all the important blessings and lessons that you have arrived at throughout this bumpy ride or journey of life for this past year. When you think your life is that tragic, you better believe there are individuals out there with much greater feats and much more terrible constraints than you yourselves have. Consider yourself lucky, or simply be grateful for going through whatever you are, to learn your lessons and be able to see more clearly and become that much stronger.
I remember heading to work on Christmas day thinking about the year thus far and how quickly it had come to an end. And about how many things I did or did not accomplish, I felt like Santiago in Paulo Coelho's masterpiece 'The Alchemist', when he was robbed of his good fortune and left without hope in the world. Santiago lamented, "…He was so ashamed that he wanted to cry. He had never even wept in front of his own sheep. But the marketplace was empty, and he was far from home, so he wept. He wept because God was unfair, and because this was the way God repaid those who believed in their dreams…When I had my sheep, I was happy, and I made those around me happy. People saw me coming and welcomed me, he thought. But now I'm sad and alone. I'm going to become bitter and distrustful of people because one person betrayed me. I'm going to hate those who have found their treasure because I never found mine. And I'm going to hold on to what little I have, because I'm too insignificant to conquer the world…" I felt defeated just like Santiago did, but somehow as I walked towards the bus station, the beautiful sunset spoke to me. The clouds were so fluffy and spread out in brilliant purple, orange and grey; I knew at that moment, I had to continue to believe that my efforts were not in vain. We become disheartened when we give our best and our all in different aspects of our lives, and see others accomplish the success' that we want, without any care, determination or respect for the craft with which we aspire. Some are just plain lucky, born into it, some believe they are worthy, whether or not they have powerful or inspirational gifts or messages for the rest of us. This makes us feel unmerited; but we are not to judge, for we not know the entire story, and we not know the individual's complete path.
I thought of a funny story, given to me by a fellow and wise flight attendant on a lovely layover one day; I was feeling tired and worried about a situation, and told her that I'd had wonderful dreams of what was to be and what really is, however my mind still doubted the truth that was given to me; my mind kept running along, and in turn caused me suffering. She told me that I must believe in the truth that was given to me, and that I should indeed trust the angels and Universe/God, as they had told me. This is the story she shared with me:
"There was a man who enjoyed taking photos, and he visited the Grand Canyon and decided to spend time shooting the beauty there. He had his back turned towards the Canyon, admiring the splendor through his lens and kept taking steps backward. He did so until finally he fell over the edge and was holding on for dear life. He called out to God, "Please, oh God, help me, I need your help so that I don't fall over into the Canyon!" God said, "Don't you trust me?" The man said, "Yes, of course, I'm a good Christian man." God said, "Because you are a good Christian man, has nothing to do with it, do you trust me?" The man exclaimed, "Of course I do, I go to church every weekend!" God said, "It doesn't matter if you go to church every weekend, do you trust me?" The man cried out, "Yes, of course I trust you, please, can you just help me!" God said, "Well, if you trust me, just let go." The man yelled, not trusting, and said, "Is there anybody else that can help me?"
It reminded me of how easily humans give up or want the easy way out; of how easily humans become frustrated and disenchanted. That we say we want help, that we say we want the best for us, but we keep causing harm and suffering to ourselves. The heavenly Universe, earth-bound angels with gifts of foreseeing and understanding and even our own intuition tell us the truth and which paths we must follow; trying to give us the most pleasurable journey, yet we ignore. We make noise, in our minds, our hearts, by blasting the music (which I'm guilty of too – hahah), or turning up the tele' and listening to nonsense given to us by people that don't have our best interest at heart, or society who puts rubbish in our heads saying, this is how you must live your life if you want to get to heaven, or this is what you must buy into to be 'cool'. It really is a bloody shame to say the least. We know the truth! It is all within us; and for those who are so deep into brainwashing or for those who have forgotten, then remember this; you cannot achieve greatness on your own; you cannot achieve greatness with arrogance and playing games with those who have but really don't know the truth. Sure you must be confident in your talents and gifts, but you must also be humble, it is the only way you can learn more, it is the only way with which you can be rewarded with success/greatness. For those of you who believe in what society tricks them into believing, and you yourself know that it isn't the truth, you will find that you are only living life in mediocrity, and missing out on the plethora and vastness of the beauty your life can really be.
And for those who enjoy stories like I do, that brings me to another story I stumbled upon while re-reading 'The Alchemist' before the New Year, which goes like this:
"A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived. Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world, the wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for 2 hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention.
The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in 2 hours. 'Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something' said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. 'As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.'
The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was. 'Well', asked the wise man, 'did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?' The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him. 'Then go back and observe the marvels of the world', said the wise man. You cannot trust a man, if you don't know his house'.
Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man he related in detail, everything he had seen. 'But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you'? asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he had, the boy saw that all the oil was gone. 'Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you', said the wisest of wise men. 'The secret to happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil in the spoon.'
Take these stories how you want to, but I am certain you too understand, just as I did on that layover, and just as Santiago the shepherd did too in 'The Alchemist'. I mustn't go on and on, for if I do, the year will already be here, and we still have some present time of this year to enjoy. I will simply leave you with what I have learnt on my journey this year:
*If you settle for less, because of circumstances or what other people force upon you, you will realize you are making the biggest mistake in your life. Hopefully you don't realize too late, because that will be your life, and it will be an unhappy one.
*We can learn a lot from a children's zeal and how they view the world; every sense is exquisite and delightful. They fall and cry, learn and move on stronger. We too must notice the sunset's beauty and the lovely moon's stillness of the night. Realize the truth when presented to us, accept it, and trust the Universe's map, even when we cannot see ahead of us.
*If you think your end of the stick is bad, you'd be surprised to see someone else's. Forget those that seem to be ahead of you and unworthy, focus only on your path and your dreams, keep on with faith and you will get there too.
*Treat people how you want to be treated, if they don't treat you with respect, love and trust, they don't really love or care about you, therefore they don't need to be in your lives, unless of course you enjoy bringing suffering unto yourself.
*Sometimes you attract ill things to yourself, and sometimes, ill things come just to create change in your life, or help you see clearer; whatever is in the dark must come to light and consequently, the Universe and heavenly team are evidently bringing better and more positive things into your life.
*Let go and feel that awful feeling of falling, but know that you will be caught in the cushioniest of embraces.
* If you truly love someone, then you must let them learn their lessons on their own, and do what they need to do to find the truth. Be selfless, instead of self-centered, and let them go, if they're worthy of your dazzling attributes, they'll realize and come back. If they come back with bundles not addressed to you or red-handed, then 'Put THEM in your pipe and let them BURN'[ well, that's not very nice, but realize they don't deserve you!]
*You're not 'weird' because you're different, you're extraordinary! And who wants to be cookie-cutter anyway.
*If you feel a cold coming on, stop burning your candles at both ends, let go of the stress, and over-dose on vitamin C or lemons.
*If people promise to help you along the way towards your destination, but in turn try sleep with you or get things from you, keep moving along, they are only thinking of themselves.
*The boy that tries to sleep with you only wants to satisfy his urges and if he no longer can get it, keeps moving on; the man that respects you, really wants to get to know you better.
*Enrich and celebrate you! Sometimes we take on responsibilities or problems which don't belong to us, rewind and refocus on what your mission is and don't be lead astray.
*Accept kindness and/or compliments from strangers or friends, they are good omens and gifts.
Remember the Book of Job (one of the greatest stories). Faith and Trust are some of the most important lessons in life. Without faith, trust, gratefulness and true love, you will never find happiness. And if you think you find happiness from material things, know that they only bring temporary pleasure; they too will fade with time. Nothing lasts in this life, except true love, like what dogs have for their masters, mothers for their sons, prophets to God and souls that are in sync. J
Happy 2011 ~ **Bless-up & Cheers! Out with the old and in with the New! Woo-Hooooo!
Dance like nobody's watching, Laugh out loud, Explore the world, Look at yourself in the mirror and say 'I love you!' J
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