Blessings & Lessons

Just so you know, there is no such thing as a coincidence. Everything happens for a reason - yes everything from the most seemingly random to the most tragic. This is because we make meaning from everything. What I hope to impress upon you in this blog is that the meaning is either a blessing or a lesson.

To get one thing out of the way: if you know enough about me by now, you will know I don’t believe that the Divine, God(dess), Source, Universe, etc is an entity pulling levers labeled “job loss,” “pregnancy,” “diagnosis,” “win the lottery,” or anything like that. There is no judgment. I believe the Divine to be a Source of Life that operates on the frequency of Love. Anything less than Love is not Divine, it is likely human fear operating the ego.

I believe through our thoughts and emotions, we vibrate an energy that draws or attracts things to us. So the thoughts and emotions we put energy into, we direct our consciousness spotlight on, will bring more to us. “Why does this always happen to me? I never asked for it.” No, but through your conditioning, did you learn to expect and accept it? Now there are larger global issues like genocide and war that stem from a much more collective consciousness idea - that’s not what I’m discussing in this blog. I’m talking about more of the events that occur in our every day lives that end up shaping or breaking who we are.

So there are times people would say, “how else could I possibly react/feel?”

Let me give you an example from my life:

Picture it - I’m 22 years old and about to graduate college. Instead of pursuing a career in clinical or research psychology field, I felt a vocational calling to a seminary. I completed an immense amount of paperwork, essays, and recommendations from various sources and then I waited. And waited. And waited. I emailed to check on the status or timeline…nothing. I was about to lose my living arrangement after graduation and needed to make plans….still nothing. I asked a priest to intervene…nothing. I eventually had to go to the bishop’s office and request some kind of intervention. Eventually I got a brief, cold email from the seminary stating they could not accept me and best wishes in my future. Now at 22 years old, I felt my world collapse - I had no backup plan because why would a seminary just reject me without any prayerful discernment process? My grandmother used to tell me from a young age that I was going to be a priest and of course told everyone she knew too. So there was that layer too. Then there was the more existential layer: did I not hear a call from a Divine voice? Was I not worthy or good enough? Was being gay a barrier? It certainly wasn’t for others! This began a long period of time that I was not able to trust my intuition. This felt like the ultimate F-up.

OR

I had this bizarre experience for a reason, a lesson or many lessons. The exact person who handled my application at the exact time I applied, whatever the reasons, rejected my admission. There is a reason. Over the years since then I took a deeper look at my theology, spirituality, and developed my own vocational path. I focused on career and working hard. It wasn’t the answer, but it taught me how to run a business. I then pursued more intense spiritual practices that forced me to grow and face everything in my life that wasn’t bringing me joy. I had to learn to love myself, know my worth, and find the Divine within me. Looking back I can now say that had I become a priest, it may have taken me away from my true purpose and path. It may have limited me in my experiences. The institution may have frustrated me and I would feel stifled and trapped. I may have still gotten to where I am now, but it could have been so much harder if I had become a priest first and felt the need to leave. So now looking back I can see that I WAS called to a vocation of spiritual service but I didn’t have the tools at 22 years old and I was only seeing one path. The path I chose brought me self-awareness, depth, SO much shadow work, self-love, a deep understanding of spirituality, and forced me to work so much with my intuition that I cannot deny it now. This wasn’t a punishment. It was a lesson, a blessing wrapped in work to do. Now when something frustrating occurs I stop and think, “what lesson is this teaching me? I am open.”

I have so many more examples in my life, but what about yours? Think about your life and things you are embarrassed about, resentful, mad, sad, or afraid to think about. Each one of these have lessons in them. There is no time requirement on these lessons, you learn them when you are truly ready. Heck, it took me about 20 years to figure the biggest ones out. It cycle and comes back to you if it is meant for you. Each time you may just learn a little bit more, but you definitely see it differently with every cycle.

When you think about your past, open your mind to other possible explanations. The first meaning I made was that I wasn’t worthy and nothing ever works out in my favor. Of course I also compared myself and said other people had it figured out and their lives look so easy. Looking back at my story, I wanted a career and life aligned to a spiritual journey to lead people towards a spiritual path of their own. I’m now doing exactly that. I did attract that vibration - I just didn’t trust the way it was happening at the time because it didn’t look like what I thought it would. That’s where our frustrations and problems lie. We have an expectation of what things should look like and that they should be guaranteed if we work hard for it and check the boxes. That’s not life, that’s capitalism/colonizer propaganda.

So what do we do instead? Well once we know what we want and how we want it, we set the intention of having it be so and take the actionable steps in front of us. When there is no step to take then wait. Be Still. There is so much power behind those words, you have NO idea. That’s where the Divine takes over - in the stillness. You just placed your order, now all the cooking is going on where you can’t see. Be Open. Remain open to what shows up in your life because it will guide you to your next steps. Ever order food based on the description and it doesn’t come out how you thought? Be open to that. What can you do with that? Does it give you more ideas? Does it give you more direction? It’s more useful information. Be Curious. When you align your thoughts and emotions to this vibration of openness and curiosity, you will attract more of that positivity. If you align with frustration and anger, you will continue to feel those feelings.

This is your invitation to look back without judgment and see what lessons you learned that you’re actually grateful for because it made you smarter, stronger, more aware, or more aligned. Be Still. Be Open. Be Curious.

If you want to show your love for my free content in the form of a cute little gift, you can always Buy Me a Coffee! Love you and thank you for being you!