The Gentle Arts Of Living A Quality Life On Your Own Terms:
Signs You Are On Your Path. Signs You Are Getting It Right
There are many pathways in this life and it doesn’t matter which one you take, for they all have a common destination, and that is the grave.
But some paths give you energy, and some take it away.
- Miguel de Cervantes
On some paths energy gains momentum, on some it dissipates. On some paths your inner life gains from your work, and your work gains from your inner life. The first sign you are getting it right: You feel your power, your energy, building.
When you find the right work, and apply yourself to it, doors open and things fall into place. Not every day or every week; persistence is required. Your belief in yourself, your vision, your uniqueness may, at times, need to transcend reason. But you feel a special energy accompanies you in your work and life. You feel blessed by your work. Again, not every day or even every week -– there will be setbacks -- but overall you know your work gives you energy and you feel that it adds to the lives of others.
Other signs you are getting it right.
Simple, uncomplicated relationships with others based on a caring and warmth. An absence of anger
You feel gratitude for the life you are living. You have patience with setbacks and don’t succumb to a deep sense of disappointment. You have faith that you are on the right path, and things will ultimately work out. Humility, patience –- there is sometimes suffering in these things.
A slowness – an absence of rushing and pressure.
Quality – living and doing work that is carefully thought out and executed with care and practice and skill.
Integrity – living and working with honesty.
Beauty – having a close relationship with beauty, being aware of the beauty that surrounds us, creating work of beauty.
Growing - You feel that on the path you are on you are learning, growing, becoming a better person.
A close, harmonious relationship with your inner world. If you have a sense of a deep peace, a sense of gratitude about your life, you are probably on the right path. Your power comes both from harmony with your inner world and harmony with your work.
I first interviewed Ethan Hubbard (author of First Light, Grandfather's Gift and other books) in the early 1990s. He said to me:
“I believe in the abundance of this planet. I don’t want to speak too much about it because the more you think you know, the less the magic works. But I am a true believer that there is an abundance factor, either through angels or through karma.”
A sign you are getting it right: you feel you are worthy to the abundance of the planet, of existence. Feeling worthy is different than feeling entitled. The universe works in mysterious ways, and on its own time. None of us can know the overall plan. Expectations lead to disappointment and take you out of the spiritual realm. The objective is a calmness and inner peace so deep that it is unruffled by fear, by disappointment, by setback.
Serve the work. Channel the ego will, the force of will, the self-absorption, into serving the work. If you think it is about you, if you are disappointed, the “get out of my way, I’m doin’ God’s work” attitude, you’ve lost your way. You serve the work first, before it serves you.
When the only way to prevail is through extraordinary effort, extraordinary hours, you are fighting life. You are not in sync with life, with the larger energies.
Journaling questions:
In a state of deep, relaxed awareness, imagine energy as an entity.
Ask your energy where it wants to go. In what direction will it grow, gather momentum? What paths give you energy, make you feel truly alive?
What are the strange, life-supporting, life-enhancing serendipities that you’ve experienced? What do they tell you about the nature of faith?
What practice do I adopt to stay on my path? The path. The path where you serve the larger energy forces of wisdom, truth, beauty. The mystery. Creating the most beautiful life, the most beautiful work, I am capable of?
If struggling to find work that is right for you, ask what are willing to sacrifice for, persist with, despite setbacks. Life consists of both giving and taking. What can you give that will contribute beauty and love to your life, and the lives of others?
Journal Notes Written During The Early Days Of Heron Dance:
Most of my problems in life come from a financial imbalance in Heron Dance, from trying to do too much, and the resulting imbalance with my creative work. By being stretched thin financially, from fatigue.
Be calm, centered. Not driven by fear, not driven by meeting the obligations of overhead.
Link up with what you find beautiful, powerful in life, in the universe. Don’t succumb to negative, link up with positive.
It isn’t what you get, it is about what you give. Find your gift and give it. Live in a way that maximizes your spiritual power, your internal power, your creative power. Share what you’ve learned living an often unusual life.
Speak out of a close relationship with nature. Our culture needs that.