Adjust as needed.

What if you are exactly where you're supposed to be?

Trust. Believe. Know.

IMAGINE

What if you are exactly where you need to be? What if all those obstacles, side trips and challenges were put in your life for a purpose? What if you had to go through that terrible ordeal to discover the gold underneath the mountain, after you escaped the dragon? What if?

Imagine.

BELIEVE

I believe things happen for a reason. I know, I know. I’ve just recited the King of Clichés, but just like the Dude Abides, I believe. I believe in free will and destiny. Life is a dance of both.

Like you, sometimes I find myself staring at the heavens asking “Seriously? I have to go through this? Why? God, explain yourself!” And of course, the insight does come…later. Sometimes it is a week, sometimes it is a decade but usually I find myself nodding with comprehension - Oh, that’s why that happened, so this thing over here could unfold.

Life, eh?

Other times our dreams come true and what we believe will make us happy, doesn’t.

For example, I had the most incredible bucket list item ever—wild camping in Scotland in a VW Campervan. For years, my imagination had a film on repeat with skies full of sunset palettes, coffee by a clear highland burn and picture perfect moments next to lochs with dramatic mountains in the background.

Can’t you see it? The romance. The freedom. The wild.

We finally did it in 2018. Yah! Except, ehm, nope. The photos looked dreamy, but the reality was, it sucked. It F’N sucked, as in royally sucked, as in it was not a fun experience, but boy oh boy did it look good.

The antique van was over fifty years old, and she acted like it. Lorries roared past us and the smallest incline made her chug along, relying on fumes of hope like The Little Engine That Could. The radio didn’t work and the rickety windshield wipers failed to keep with the Scottish rain. Sleeping was a game of switcheroo, piling the luggage in front and pulling the seat into a bed of three cushions that separated in the night. We woke up with our rears on the cold metal, smelling of the engine.

Because I was with the Piper and we were in our beloved Scotland, we adjusted. We laughed a ton and firmly decided to never, ever do it again. (Bring on the fancy hotel or the Mercedes Sprinter Van for this sassy lassie.)

This is the stuff of our lives! We can’t know until we try. We have to date the wrong people to find true love. We have to taste spicy level of five stars Thai food to learn we prefer two stars. We have to be brave enough to get out there, live fully with all the ups and downs and trust that it will all work out as it should! There are two Scottish sayings I believe make the point well.

1. The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley

2. Whits fur ye’ll no go by ye

Sometimes, even when you work hard, things don’t work out and you still have to believe that what is meant for you will find you.

No matter what, we adjust as needed.

Fletcher Ellingson, the author of The Practice of Feeling Good, says it this way: Revisit, Revise, Recommit. It’s a simple code to allow what is and stay in action. Is this still your dream? No–okay, you’ve got clarity. Good. Let it go. Yes –still your dream? Fantastic! What can you do this week to be in action? How will you engage fully with your dreams? How will you participate in creating your destiny?

We don’t go hiking to only enjoy the top of the mountain. If that was it, we could just find a gondola and bypass the whole ordeal. It is the feeling of our muscles working, the pride in our accomplishment and the satisfaction of the effort we put in to get to that view. Life is a journey and we want to enjoy it all! Right?

Does that including embracing the unknown? I think so. What if you are exactly where you’re supposed to be? What if part of the whole gig is simply trusting? Allowing. Believing. Letting go.

Lately, I’ve been playing the game of remembering magical times in my life that could not have happened through effort, hustle or striving. Conversations. Meetings. Opportunities. For me a few include:

• Being introduced to the Piper in downtown Tacoma

• The crazy way I got my teaching job

• Meeting the Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche while hiking on the Holy Isle

• Finding the Story Summit community online

Can you think of some yourself? By providing yourself with evidence of magic in your own life, can you release the tension in your shoulders and relax?

There. Isn’t that better?

DISCOVER

Whatever you are dreaming of today, I hope you Imagine. Believe. Discover. Dream boldly, adjust as needed and trust you are exactly where you need to be. May you discover the next step on your path and when you get to the top of your mountain, I hope you give yourself space to really appreciate that view.

And, if you ever rent a vintage VW Campervan in Scotland, don’t say nobody warned you.

What do you think? Do you believe we have to struggle, strive and suffer to achieve? Have you ever had the experience of something coming to you in an entirely unexpected way? Do you think it’s possible to relax, even in the hard times, and Know it is all going to work out?

Please share. I love to hear your stories.

xoxo
Shannon

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