Moving towards my authentic self
Acceptance
When I went to a ‘find your purpose’ seminar a month ago, one of the things that I got from it was that I need to practice acceptance in order to move forward with my purpose. Acceptance has been a problem in my life. I have trouble accepting other people, situations, or even myself. I have trouble accepting the world for what it is, and want it to be different. I have trouble accepting myself for what I am, and want to be different.
While wanting things to be different can be a worthy desire, it prevents acceptance of how things are right now. We want change because ‘how things are’ makes us unhappy. We don’t want to be unhappy, so we want things – and people – to change around us.
What we’re really doing is avoiding responsibility for our own perceptions and beliefs.
Connecting On Purpose
I went to a seminar on the weekend in Sydney, to ‘find my Purpose’. I’m quite passionate in my life about helping people grow, but wanted some clarity on how I’m meant to do that, so off I went to the seminar.
I got a lot more than I expected.
As soon as I first saw her I thought there was something special about her, but when she smiled and sat down next to me and introduced herself, I was surprised. There were a lot of vacant chairs and other people in the room…
So we introduced ourselves and chatted a bit before the seminar started. Then we had lunch together, and that was pretty cool, with some deep and meaningful conversations shared. Then back to the seminar, before heading our separate ways after it finished for the day.
Life is about how you make others feel
I received this by email tonight, and usually I ignore stuff like this. But this has an excellent message that I wanted to pass on. I hope you get something from this, and that it changes how you see your interactions with others:
I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and knocked. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
For those who believe
For those who believe, no proof is necessary.
For those who don’t believe, no proof is enough.
More on the adventure
I think this is going to be the focus of quite a few posts this year, leading up to it, and likely beyond it. I’ve been refining my travel plans the past couple of days, working out where I’ll be sleeping and how much it’s likely to cost. That, plus the expected petrol costs, food and miscellaneous costs, and tours here and there, is going to cost a lot of money. But now I know how much I need to save.
I realised tonight that this is more than ‘a road trip’. It’s a spiritual adventure.
I’ve never been on such a journey before. 40 days by myself around an inhospitable country. Very few people undertake such an adventure in their lifetime. When I see myself traveling the highways and enjoying the sights and experiences, I get a strong feeling of exhilaration and excitement.
