Thoughts from the trail...

A crossroads

I am at a bit of a crossroads right now and it is one that is familiar to me. I make my living as an online marketer and a couple of contracts have run out and my income has dipped which always causes a bit of an emotional crisis for me.

This is the life of a marketer. Marketing campaigns come and go for a whole variety of reasons that I won’t go into.

Trust

So in the midst of this stress as I’m walking on the trail today I think I hear the word “trust” and I feel like it was one of those divine moments because I am on a journey of trusting the Universe to provide what I need on a daily basis. Could my panic and worry be a sign that I am out of alignment with that trust? Of course, it could be.

Can the Universe be trusted?

Ironically, as I look back on my life there is plenty the evidence that the universe, or whatever you want to call It, can be trusted to provide what I really need. Even when I don't feel like my needs are being met by the universe there is almost always a good reason for that too. I find it helpful to be reminded of that.

Every day I am enriched spiritually and even though I’m not  rich, the universe has been providing for me financially. I am human and I’m always fighting the battle of wanting more of both of these things as if that would solve all my problems once and for all. Having all of the spiritual intuition and money in the world isn’t going to meet my deepest needs.

So just to reinforce reminders to myself about trust I want to share some thoughts that I’ve had on the trail and as I investigate this further...

Notes to self about trust:

1_ "Everything is a gift" - focus on that for a while (1) When you get worried remember all the times that you have been provided for and loved and held every moment of every day since you were born by an "Ultimate Love and an Infinite Source."(2) You were given life and it has been sustained and blessed by the Universe. All you have to do is rest, receive, and respond. At times you have to plant seeds, but even the seeds are a gift.

2_ "...rest in an Ultimate Love, draw on Infinite Source." (2) Remember that worry is a sign that you are not in alignment and not trusting the universe. Let go of whatever you are worrying about (ego) and return to being present and open to the Love.

3_ "...gratefulness is a measure of our aliveness." (1) Be grateful. Appreciate the work that you do have and the people who are providing that work for you. [This one is hitting me as I write it. I’m going to take a few minutes just to be grateful for my business relationships both past and present before I write anymore. ...Ahhh that was good. I'll have to keep doing this.]

4_ Do your part! Be responsible! Do a good job with what you’ve been given! Take risks and don’t bury your talents.! Let your light shine! Make it your aim to be present in all you do!

5_ Even when you perceive that things aren't going your way, continue to have faith in the essential goodness of the universe.

Quotes

Everything is a gift. The degree to which we are awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefullness, and gratefullness is a measure of our aliveness. ~ Brother David Steindl-Rast (1)

Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.  ~ Eckhart Tolle (2)

[They] who do not trust enough will not be trusted. ~ Lao Tzu

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The life of faith is learning how to rest in an Ultimate Love and how to draw upon an Infinite Source. On a very practical level, you will then be able to trust that you are being held and guided. In fact, you can trust after a while that almost everything is a kind of guidance. ~ Richard Rohr (3)

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I hope this has been helpful. If you want to talk some more about trust in a coaching or spiritual direction setting CLICK HERE

View last blog post - What this cottonwood tree said to me is changing my life

FOOTNOTES

(1) Brother David Steindl-Rast, Jesus and Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings

(2) Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

(3) Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations https://cac.org/trust-and-surrender-2017-03-07

Photos Rod Janz