The most common commodity in this country
is unrealized potential.
—Calvin Coolidge
Perhaps you have never considered, before reading this quote, that you have unrealized potential. After all, many of us have arrived at the final quarter of our lives. Aren’t we done yet? Haven’t we spent ourselves? The fortunate answer is no. We aren’t done until the final breath is taken. We aren’t done until we have completed the life we were sent here to live.
Perhaps you haven’t thought about your life in terms such as these. Being sent here carries a far different meaning from simply being born.
Not One of Our Relationships is Accidental
I had not seriously considered that we were born specifically for certain assignments until reading the books of Caroline Myss, the spiritual intuitive I have referred to many times in this book.
She says in Sacred Contracts that we make a contract, an agreement of sorts, on the “other side” with each soul we will encounter after being born into this life. This means, of course, that not one of our relationships is accidental. Each one has been preplanned for the lesson we both agreed to experience.
When I was first introduced to this idea early in my forties by a friend who insisted that she knew it to be true, I doubted it. But then after coming upon the idea again when I read Myss’s book, I felt instant, comforting relief. Like so many of us, I had experienced myriad encounters throughout my life that had troubled me, some gravely, others only slightly. However, I felt a quiet joy when I learned that each one of them, regardless of their content, was a learning lesson. And I was both teacher and pupil, switching roles as the lesson dictated.
Looking At Our Past With A Different Understanding
I am not suggesting here that you need to share this belief, but I do want you to consider the ease with which you can look at your past with a different understanding now. In fact, what I suggest we do in this essay is reconsider some of our past experiences in light of this possibly new awareness.
If Caroline Myss’s name is new to you, google her when time permits, but for now, let’s explore the past together. The lessons you’ve learned have been many, quite fruitful, and always intentional.
Who is the first person you remember, from your childhood, who didn’t seem easy to be with? Perhaps she or he laughed at you or declined to be friends when you so desperately needed one? If childhood doesn’t bring someone to mind, how about your teen years? Take a few moments here and now to quietly close your eyes and remember once again the experience, the feelings, the resolution, if there was one.
When I was young . . .
What’s the nagging realization you have about these memories that rushed back to you?
Do you feel peaceful about the awareness? If not, why not?
What I’m driving at here is that there is so much more to our existence than a superficial overview would suggest. Our experiences are rich with meaning. Every one of them! Not one of them should be overlooked or dismissed as mere entertainment for the ego.
We Couldn’t Be Where We Are Now Without Each Past Experience
Each experience has contributed to the wholeness of who you are now in this latter stage of life. We have truly deserved each and every experience. I don’t mean that to sound harsh or insensitive if some of your past has been painful.
I just want to emphasize that we couldn’t be where we are now without each past experience. No doubt there were a handful of them that you hated. That’s no doubt true for everyone reading this. Me too. But let’s revisit a couple of those and look at them with fresh, wiser eyes. Can you see how they made you a better person? I’ll share one of mine, and then I want you to do likewise.
When I was a young girl, before I had hit my teens, I was sexually assaulted. It happened more than once by the same individual. He was a shirttail relative and I was far too timid to pull away, resist, or tell anyone. I simply let it happen and was troubled by it for more than thirty years. When I finally talked it over with a cleric, he suggested I work with a therapist.
The therapist suggested I write about it. I did. The details of all that happened aren’t as important as the ultimate result. I eventually had an experience with forgiveness that was profound. And that experience had an impact on every other experience in my life. I see the entire scenario as a very necessary part of my journey, and I can fully accept it as a sacred contract, just like Caroline Myss explains in her book.
Now it’s your turn. Recall at least one experience that you can comfortably see now as a blessing even though at the time of initially experiencing it, you were troubled.
I remember . . .
Being Grateful
I hope you are becoming aware of the necessity of each thread every experience has contributed to the tapestry that is your life. What beautiful tapestries we have woven. Being grateful for the pleasant as well as the less-than-pleasant occurrences that make up our past is what prepares us for the host of experiences that are awaiting their time as our lives continue to unfold.
Before leaving this essay, take some time to remember all that you have to be grateful for. Make the list in your journal. Share the list. Then thank your God as you understand him.
All is well. All is always well.
©2015 by Karen Casey. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission of Conari Press,
an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
www.redwheelweiser.com.
Article Source
Living Long, Living Passionately: 75 (and Counting) Ways to Bring Peace and Purpose to Your Life
by Karen Casey.
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About the Author
Karen Casey is a popular speaker at recovery and spirituality conferences throughout the country. She conducts Change Your Mind workshops nationally, based on her bestselling Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow. She is the author of 19 books, including Each Day a New Beginning which has sold more than 2 million copies. Visit her at http://www.womens-spirituality.com.
