The Gift

“You are a gift, and everything in your life is a gift. If you treat it that way, you will experience it that way and you'll spend the rest of your life unwrapping presents.” -Bashar

There is a recurring theme in my life and in my writing. It reoccurs so much because I have to remind myself of it often. Though I have seen it throughout my life it is only lately that I have begun to embody it. I have begun to lean into it so to speak. The idea or belief is this, “Everything is Always Working Out for Me.”

It is an idea that I have been not so secretly trying to implant in everyone around me. That everything is always working out for the best. Most people know this to be true, but they tend to ignore it like I have for so many years. When times are tough you’ll hear someone say, “Deep down I know everything will be ok.” But to truly live that way consciously then you must look at every single thing in your life as a gift. To know that everything is happening for your highest good.

I just had an incident that inspired me to write this. I got very frustrated at a piece of technology that has always worked but for some reason didn't today. Yes, I got frustrated, I’m still human. So, I called customer support and the woman on the line was absolutely no help. I did bite my tongue and wasn't mean or disrespectful in any way, especially since I just wrote about humility the other day. But she could tell I was frustrated. I did end up figuring it out. Now I know more than I ever thought I would need to know about this certain piece of software. So it all worked out. The gift that I was given is in-depth knowledge about how to send money across the globe. If anyone needs that, which apparently I did, let me know.

That is a very small and slightly vague example of how everything always working out. Let me give you a deeper one. My darkest hour, my lowest point in life, was only about two and a half years ago when my mother passed away. My world came crashing down around me. During that time, I did something I have a hard time doing, I had to ask for help.

So many friends and loved ones came out of the woodwork to be supportive in so many ways. However, we were still short on money for funeral services, and so I asked for help from my estranged uncle, my mother's brother, and only sibling. I hadn’t spoken to him for many, many years, neither had my mother. We just don't see eye to eye on a lot of things.

But after she passed we had a long talk and he was very gracious to give the money needed for the funeral. Though he wasn't able to make it to the funeral it was a great time, it was how she would have wanted it. More than that my uncle and I were able to make peace. I have no resentment whatsoever toward the man now. I don't talk to him often, maybe once a year during the holidays but there is peace in my family. While peace could've happened a million different ways, it happened the way it did, the way it was supposed to. It was a huge gift, one of many that come out of such a dark time.

Now I know I am looking back at the situation years later and am able to see the gift. But it was almost impossible to see it at the time. So I understand that when you are in the moment and something “bad” happens, it is extremely difficult to see it as a gift? I like to say this to myself when those things come into my life, “I don’t know how yet but I know this is for my greater good.” I say it over and over again until I mean it. Every time something new arises, some fire that needs to be put out, I do my best to see it as a gift. I don't know how, and I don't know why yet, but I know it's there to serve me. There is always a silver lining and a lesson I am supposed to learn.

That is an extremely powerful way of living. Because it removes all blame, all guilt, and it moves you take full responsibility for all actions. Not just the actions that you are taking, but of everything that's happening around you. To see it all as if it is happening for your benefit, to say thank you to the things that seem horrible at the time.

It may sound overdramatic, but it might be the most powerful belief you could ever implant in yourself. If you truly believed that everything was always working out for you, then whatever struggle you're going through would be to your highest good. Whatever "bad" thing that is happening, or has happened, would also be to your highest good. How can you lose if everything is happening for your benefit?

Better yet how would you act if you knew that everything was working out for you? You want to feel inner peace, this is a pretty good place to start. How would you act if you knew that everything was working out for you? Would you smile a little more, laugh a little easier? Would you be a little more confident in the way you speak, the way you move, the decisions you make? How would it feel to know that you can't make a wrong decision? If you choose one way, it will succeed. If you choose the other way, it'll be a lesson that'll eventually help you succeed.

Act as if it is impossible to fail, because it is impossible. The only way to fail is to give up. I'm not saying to not stay flexible, to not stay open to new ways of doing things, the new paths to go down. I'm saying to never give up on believing that your dreams are possible. That they are not only possible, but they are coming toward you with hurricane force.

The reason I write about the things I do, the reason they resonate with me so much is because I went through some serious shit that forced me to look to another way of living. This wasn't just a hobby after that, it wasn’t just an interest in philosophy. These ideas and beliefs saved my life. They helped me get out of bed in the morning. They made me look with hope to the future. They made me grow and evolve from tragedy instead of being caught in it. They reminded me of something that I am going to remind you of now.

You are a gift to this world. The experiences you have lived, the life that you've led, your insights, your voice they must be expressed. You never truly know the affect you have on the others around you. You never truly know the impact you have on this planet. You are an integral part of the whole. You were created for a purpose. You exist therefore you are essential to us all.

Your talents were given to you so that you could give them to the world. Put those talents out there and you'll be amazed at what comes back. When you follow your inspiration, when you give your gifts to the world, I promise more will come. More inspiration, more creativity, more ideas, more collaborations, more magic. And the world will be better place because of you. Because you trusted that everything was working out for you.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman

Good Journey My Friends