A warrior knows that to be one with everything is the ultimate goal, but a warrior also knows that the only means of achieving such universal oneness is by taking the solo journey. And so a warrior does not fret over having or not having but works with what is to confront and dissolve all that stands in the way of achieving oneness with everything. For oneness is dissolution of all that is personal while at the same time still maintaining the inner wholeness of a solitary being.
A warrior is not greedy, even for that oneness, for a warrior knows that it is the journey and the experiences that teach the meaning of oneness, and so a warrior turns from greed to love, accepting love as the only means by which to achieve oneness. And what is love? It is oneness of everything!
Life created you, delivered you, and challenges you every day to fulfill its dream of you. Keep your feet on the ground, your heart open, your mind free and ready to receive new ideas, for it is in the changing self that you will find what life wants for you. Life, your creator and your guide, your life force, greets you each day in the rising sun, in the taste of the wind, in the air you breathe, and it puts you to sleep and dreams at day’s end. It’s only concern is you and your journey of change. Find in each day’s unfolding where it is leading you. It might not be where you think!
Our path lies always before us… eagerly awaiting our next step. – Photo by Jan Ketchel
There was never a doubt in my mind that life was a journey. As a young child, I envisioned this journey as a long and meandering path that began somewhere to the left of my vision and traversed to the right, stretching far into the future. There was no beginning that I could ever see and every step forward was a mystery, for I had no idea where I was going. So begins the introduction to my next book, The Edge of the Abyss, Volume 2.
We are all on our own paths. It has never been hard for me to envision the path I myself am on, but it has often been hard to see where I was going, for what reason, and how things would unfold as I took my journey through life. I am able to look back now and see what I could not see as a child, for I had not, at that point, journeyed very far or been in a position to ponder deeper meaning. Now when I look back, I see how everything in my life is strung together, every moment linked, every step leading me on to the next step. Each moment and each step was right, I see that now, though while in the midst of living many of those moments and taking some of those steps I could not have had such a perspective, for when in the turmoil of life clarity is often hard to come by.
Now I get to watch others take their journeys, watch them live through their moments of uncertainty, take their unsure steps, wondering where it will all take them. I watch with awe and with awareness that each one of us on this earth is endowed with all we need to walk the path that lies before us. I have learned to let people go, to bear the tension of watching them stumble, make mistakes, get up again and keep going. When I was young, I could not wait to leave everything behind and begin life anew, in my own way. I remember this when I watch others set out into life, remember how uncertain and frightening it was to leave home and go into the world, but at the same time so thrilling.
We are all responsible for ourselves. Once we grow up, reach a certain age, become adults, it’s up to us to take off into life and make something of ourselves. It’s what life is all about, making a meaningful life for ourselves. Some people have a vision of what that life will look like and others have no idea. Those who know plan accordingly, but those who don’t know are free to roam. Roaming is good too, and many a life has been built upon roaming. I think of the beat generation and my generation that grew up in the 1960s, restless and in touch with something besides the “American Dream.”
I don’t think there is an American Dream anymore, it fell out of popularity a long time ago. Now we are world citizens; we are everyone. How then can we separate ourselves from everyone and pretend that we are something special, that we are more that someone else living on the other side of the world? A lot of what we find interesting these days came from the other side of the world, from ancient sources: yoga and meditation, Buddhism and vegetarianism, the principles of yin and yang, the desire to be spiritually whole. I did not grow up with these things. They met me as I took my journey, intersecting my path, things I picked up along the way that made sense to me, that I saw value in, things that made my life vital and meaningful.
Now I dream my own dreams… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
My path has been deeply challenging at times and spectacularly beautiful at other times. As I look back now, I see it in all of its glory, and I see all of its gory details too. I would not have it otherwise. When I get stuck or depressed these days, I don’t stay there too long. I know that I am the maker of my own life, that I create my own reality. And so, when I’m feeling lost or worried, I remind myself of this. “Create a new reality if you don’t like the one you’re in!” I tell myself, and I find it really isn’t that hard to do. It might be as simple as letting myself feel a different way, allowing myself to be who and how I want to be, giving myself permission to see everything from a totally different perspective.
It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life, creating my own reality, striving to make it as joyous a journey as possible. One step at a time.
Here is Jeanne’s weekly message. May it offer you guidance as you take your journey.
No matter what your pathway looks like, it’s yours to take… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
Remember how often I say that “everything will be fine,” one of my favorite sayings? Well, my advice is to heed those words because everything will be fine!
Be open to what comes to greet you as you walk your path through life. Take your life seriously. Do not despise your journey, the turns that life takes you on, but embrace every challenge you face as your most prized possession. Nurture your way through all of life’s vicissitudes with attention to detail, thoroughness, and a keen sense of the rightness of everything, for everything that happens to you is deeply meaningful. It may take awhile to figure out the meaning of everything, but know that it is deeply personal—in some way about you!
All of you must remember not only my words—”Everything will be fine!”—but also that you are the energy, the force, and the resolution of all that you deal with as you go through life. Seek deeper connection with this strong powerful inner self. It’s all you need in order to reach the next moment in life when you realize, “Oh yes, everything is fine!” But do not stop there. Ask what comes next!
Know full well that life wants you to grow and discover yet more things about yourself: how you operate, how you stagnate, how you excel, and how you turn inward and refuse life. The workings of the self, once discovered and explored, will aid you in understanding all other human beings. Such understanding will enable you to live compassionate, loving lives, sensitive to the truth that all struggle and yet all have equal potential to experience that which you too wish to experience.
You are no more or less that the most realized being on earth. You are not more or less than the most ignorant being either. Strive to meet your potential self and then seek your fulfillment as an evolving being, knowing full well that everything will be fine, because everything is now, and you are there experiencing everything now.
Let each moment guide you to the next. With open heart go forward on your journey, trusting yourself and all the gifts of life, all that comes to teach and guide you on your journey.
