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My dad is an easy going and open-minded man. It is funny for me to contemplate that he has a daughter with my temperament. I can see his face looking down at me as a young girl, perplexed by his daughter’s inability to let anything go. As a child I could easily be described as intransigent, perfectionist and stubborn. Unfortunately, many of these qualities followed me into adulthood. Looking back, I can see how my own tenacity caused me many troubles. I just couldn’t seem to get out of my own way.
I now understand why I was so rigid with my desire to control my life. My hard driving ways were nearly always positively reinforced by everything and everyone around me. If I worked hard enough I saw that I could achieve nearly anything I wished for in my little world. Whether it was making the cheerleading squad, getting straight A’s or having the attention of the most desirable boys in school, I saw that striving would pay dividends. The problem was that relying on my own energies and overdriving everything in my life was exhausting. By my teenage years I had burned myself out. In addition, I couldn’t help but notice the things I pursued and attained weren’t offering me much satisfaction. I knew there had to be another way.
I have to admit that it hasn’t been until my forties that I have begun to deeply understand what it means to trust the organic patterns of my life. In his wonderful book, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao, Dr. Wayne Dyer writes, “By staying in harmony on the path of the Tao [The Way], all the contentment you could ever dream of will begin to flow into your life — the right people, the means to finance where you’re headed, and the necessary factors will come together.” The Tao teaches us that there is always a gentle way available to those of us who choose it.
When we step into the flow inherent to the Tao we begin to get out of our own way. We can begin to do this by relaxing and trusting. We might start this process by slowing down and breathing deeply. I often find that tapping into my intuition and noticing Divine guidance helps me to access the Tao in my own life.
As Marianne Williamson has said, we needn’t worry that God will lose our file. If we take time to reflect on our own lives we might see how we were loved and supported (sometimes despite our best efforts to muck things up!) by life itself many times in our past. This insight may give us the confidence to begin trusting and moving with the Divine patterning in our life.
© Copyright 2008 by Jeanine Austin. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org.
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