Life can be very challenging for many of us. It seems as if when one area of our lives is in a good place another one goes disarray. I see life as a jungle filled with surprises, some good and some not so good. To have joyful life in the jungle, we need to become good at navigating it, and that requires developing certain skills. There is a secret to life with more grace and less struggle.
This year I turn 60, and I feel like I am finally starting to better understand what is needed to bring wellness, happiness, success and inner peace into my life. The most important lesson I have learned has been that everything I need is inside me to create a beautiful life, and this is the biggest part of the secret. I have stopped looking for other people, external circumstances or events to bring joy and inner peace into my heart. I have made the choice in this past few years to go within and listen to my heart and my inner guidance. I have cultivated the courage to do what heart is guiding me to do even though at times is scary. I am choosing to let my spirit and God lead the way. I must remind myself everyday about this choice because my mind wants to take over and tell me what I “should” do. I can now distinguish those two voices, the one from my heart and my spirit and the one from my head. The one from my head often comes from a place of fear, the one from within my heart comes from a place of true love.
I have discovered that when I focus my attention on my breath, I can anchor my wondering mind and my heart beating slows down. I become present in my life without regrets from the past or worries about the future.
I have also noticed that when I fill my heart with gratitude, it expands, and it gives me hope and encouragement to keep going forward, no matter what challenges I am facing. I realize that every challenge that God has given me was a gift for spiritual growth. Many years ago, after receiving my master’s degree in social work, I developed insomnia, and while it was miserable, it was a great gift. As I searched for a solution to my struggle, I was being guided to become a holistic practitioner who was going to help other people heal using a mind-body-spirit approach to healing. Every time I can help someone feel better, my heart rejoices.
I now know that the struggles I had in my marriage were meant for me to find my voice and to learn how to become a good communicator, to teach my heart acceptance, forgiveness, and self-love, and to learn to envision a happier and peaceful future with my spouse. My husband and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We have learned together to not take each other for granted, we have learned to speak with kinder words, and we have cultivated more gratitude together.
When we stop fighting what life is giving us we begin to learn and grow with the challenges bestowed upon us. Those trials are defining our path ahead. When we stop being warriors and fighters, we can settle into graceful living, where our hearts are filled with inner peace and, joy and our daily life is filled with tranquility and gratitude.