“Human beings seem to be the only corner of creation that apologizes for what  is natural, organic, and part of the plan. We seem to want to be anything and everything except who and what we are.”- Dr. Robin Smith. 

Within the animal kingdom, each animal has a defined role they play in the eco-system. It’s a dance that plays out every day of the year with each animal only aware of their own necessities. In the wild, its atypical to see an animal confused about what they are supposed to do. But, if an entire species did get confused or thrown off about who they are supposed to be, it would throw the entire eco-system into chaos.

The human experience is not as clearly defined. As humans, we are aware of what everyone else is capable of and we are given a multitude of choices on how to live your life. Often, as children, we are misidentified by the adults in our lives. She’s the talented one. He’s the smart one. He’s the bad one. We can even be told what our career is going to be based on someone else’s dreams, assumptions or fears long before we have decided for ourselves.  As humans, we are also very adept at going against our natural instincts and continuing down the wrong path for years. We can find comfort in uncomfortable situations if we believe it is key to our survival. We can also be nurtured into going against our instincts when we are rewarded for it through acceptance and love.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past couple days. We are bombarded with images of how our lives are supposed to be and what success is supposed to look like. It can throw your inner guidance system out of whack and send you down the path of chasing a life that doesn’t belong to you. I think when that happens that you are no longer doing your soul’s work. So, while you may be gaining success, by every one else’s standards, you are not successful in working through your own issues and doing your life’s work.

What if, when things fall apart, it is because you are not following your path? Maybe, you are following the path that you think you are supposed to, but you’re not using your gifts or living your purpose. What if you’re not doing the job that nurtures your talents. What if the person that left you was pretending to be someone else in loving you so neither of you were benefiting from the relationship?  I was watching an interview with Dr. Robin Smith for Super Soul Sunday and she was talking about how several events happened back-to-back. She said that she wasn’t living the life she was supposed to be living. She said that she was pretending. She said that the Universe loved her so much that it wouldn’t allow her to continue to die trying to be someone she was not. I thought that was interesting. It’s easy to look at what seems like terrible things in our life and wonder why they are happening TO you. But, what if they are happening FOR you instead

It’s only when we get really honest with ourselves that we can feel the depth of our unhappiness when we are lost in who we THINK we are supposed to be instead of who we ARE. You may be numbing yourself to hide the fact that your life doesn’t fit you, but fit the blueprint of the life that was created for you. While it may be holding together now, it will eventually fall down around your ears and the Universe will beg you to start rebuilding the life that was meant for you.

“The soul would much rather fail at its own life than succeed at someone else’s.”- David Whyte

What if what was taken away or fell apart did because you refused to admit that it wasn’t right? What if the decision was made for you? What if instead of a loss, you have been given an opportunity to start over and realign?

Share your thoughts in comments.