As I am preparing to embark upon a new professional path – an opportunity that came out of nowhere and which I never would have imagined or planned for myself – I am reminded that Life tells us what it wants for and from us – not the other way around. Our choice in the matter is not about what or how we choose but is instead about how we accept what is presented or how stubbornly we resist it.

No matter how the new age and prosperity gospel folks argue otherwise, we are NOT the masters of our destiny. Our thoughts do not dictate our reality. While the Universe gives us what we need (what is in our highest good), it rarely gives us what we think we want or desire.

“Want” and “Desire” both arise out of fear and are manifestations of resistance.

Case in point, since 1994, I have placed my professional attention and energy into a very specific mission. For the learning and all the experiences I gained, I am forever grateful. During these thirty-two years, I have experienced moments of pure grace, fulfillment, and joy. I have also experienced great struggle. During this time I have known abundance, I have also known lack. I do not, however, regret a single minute of any of it because:

It was right for me at the time. Through these experiences I have learned and grown.
I also believe many have benefitted from the gifts and resources I have shared.

The time for all of this, however, seems to have come to an end. All the attempts to revive this mission and keep it alive have failed. It is time to accept that the horse is dead and soon needs to be buried (more on that later). As St. Paul once said, “I have fought the good fight…I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)” 

Life, it seems, has other plans for me. It is no longer my job to save the world (hah!). Neither, it seems, am I called to be a visible voice for the Magdalene. Instead, and ironically, I’ll be serving in a capacity reflective of the degree I earned in my undergraduate studies, while using the gifts I originally set out to share when I first embarked on my professional career in 1987.  I know this path will encompass more than just this, but it sure feels like a kind of full-circle moment to me.

Only now, I’m older and wiser. I’ve had nearly forty years to hone the skills I will be using. Technologies have changed and become more collaborative. I’m a different person than I was in 1987. And I have abilities outside of the ones I will be using that will undoubtedly be called upon.

This is a new path. A new adventure. I’m excited. And terrified. But when the Universe randomly and out of nowhere puts an opportunity in your path, and you say “no” to it three times, but it still comes back, it is likely best to accept what Life is giving you and be ready for the possibility that it might be “something amazing….I guess.”