What if the whole Universe is one giant set-up for your benefit?
What if all the things that are currently difficult, painful or exasperating in your life are a gift?
After a very stressful and intense couple of weeks I know I do!
Just when I thought I was at my limit, this thought pops into my head -what if it is all exactly as it is meant to be and all this is just another pathway to the divine?
What if the beloved is watching over me as always, and guiding me through this human experience?
And breathe! The thought is not new but it is often forgotten. It’s return is a moment of Grace and sweet relief.
Suddenly there was a little space inside and my resistance to what is started to fall away. I felt less afraid and more accepting of my present experience, even though it is not what I would have chosen if I had been asked.
“Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don’t have to like it… it’s just easier if you do.” – Byron Katie
What I love about this perspective is the possibility of finding meaning and a loving force in everything that happens.
Notice that I said possibility. This is not meant to be 
another stick to beat yourself with and, if you are currently feeling exhausted with life’s trials and tribulations, please don’t think I am suggesting you should just suck it up and enjoy whatever is going on.
It’s not always easy to find meaning in the crappy stuff life throws at us, but when we stop fighting and start trusting it at least becomes possible.
From this place all experience (pleasant and unpleasant, good and bad, wanted and unwanted) has the potential to take you to a deeper connection with your heart.
Every moment contains an invitation to soften into now, to be present and open up. To let yourself be touched by the beauty that surrounds you.
“Welcome the present moment as if you had invited it. It is all we ever have, so we might as well work with it rather than struggling against it. We might as well make it our friend and teacher rather than our enemy.” Pema Chodron
I don’t want to pretend that I get to see the world like this all the time – you can ask my nearest and dearest about how often I forget and end up in a tail spin! Like most people’s, my life has plenty of difficult stuff to lean into. This is not about trying to avoid or escape from feelings of grief, hurt or sadness, for heart ache is part of the human experience and sometimes pain and struggle can feel overwhelming
But you are not your difficulties. You are love. Your essence is love and love is the foundation of everything.
Whatever you are living right now, try to remember this and rest a little. Sense yourself being supported and held, and don’t forget to breathe!
from one Em to another Em…
Thank you for writing this – we spoke about your insights on this the other day – your “remembering” of the possibility of the giant set-up. It is easy to forget that perspective.
You’ve written this for you, and you’ve written it for me. Thank you.
And just for the fun of it – there was an M&M advert in the UK in the late 1980s… I have searched high and low for it on the internet to no avail. A dear friend used to quote it to me and I loved it and have remembered it always. Now it’s for you from me: “Life’s better with an M (Em) than without an M” 😉
Thanks Em! So happy to know this speaks to you too. Here’s to remembering again and again! xx