The Privilege of Your Journey

by Jo Anna on 01/22/2013

I could hear the catch in her voice.  The anger. The sadness. She was pissed. Hurt. Done. She came to work with me as her marriage was ending. Years of trying. Of therapy. Of work. And the marriage still ended.  She lamented the wasted time.  The energy.  All she had done…all they had done…she was exhausted. Yet here she was, at the bottom of a mountain.  Knowing that the climb was the opportunity.  There was an old her she was ready to shift.  There was an new her ready to embody.  She knew this. But she didn’t want to do it.  She wanted to run away. Hide.  Make everything numb.  She railed at path ahead of her, wishing for completion.

The beliefs about her worthiness…about her ability to be loved, had loomed large in her life.  These where core issues for her.  Deep in her being.  She was ready let it go, but beginning was a daunting task.

I waited until she stopped crying to begin.  “This is a privilege.  You are only here in this moment, to do this work because you have done everything else that needed to be done.  You have primed the pump.  You have walked the path.  This is not easy. But make no mistake, it is a privilege.”

The words sank in.  Her breath steadied.  She grounded herself.  She made it clear that she was not willing to live the rest of her life living in the lie of her lack of worth.  She knew more than ever, this moment was hers. Hard fought.  She was not going to let it go without living it to the fullest.  In that moment, the story of who she was began to change.

We spoke last week and she reflected on her journey.  On who she is now.  The willingness to let begin. To own the right and privilege of her path.  She held her former resistance tenderly, loving who she was way back then.  She smiled at the thought of her new love. Her new job.  Her desire to stand forward in her truth.  Life is good.  Great.  Because she recognized the sacred opportunity and took it with gusto.

(this piece was written with permission of my client.  Any identifying details were changed).

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Living on Purpose is Not Always Easy

by Jo Anna on 01/08/2013

Sometimes, it’s not going to be easy.  It’s just not.  There is this myth going around that when you are wildly on purpose, everything is easy.  When talking to clients, and getting to know their desires, they often tell me that they want to finally figure out what their life purpose so that work will never feel like work again.  They will be like Snow White in that scene where all the animals show up and help her clean the house…communing with The One every moment of every day. Not only will work never be challenging, but all of life will be a happily ever after sort of deal.  Easy, peasy, nice and breezy.

But that’s just not the way it is.  I LOVE my work. I always say that I have the best job I could ever imagine. I get to show up as myself. Serve amazing people doing amazing things..and I get paid for it!  I get to write. Travel. Create. Play. I have ample time for myself. I love what I do.  And some days it’s hard.  Some days it feels like work. Some days I am on the growing edge, pushing myself past my comfort zone. Professionally. Personally.  It can be rough.  I hit up against all those parts of myself that I let stop me in the past.  They have to be loved. Worked with. Loved some more. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like picking daisies on a sunny day with the wind blowing perfectly in my hair, or whatever soothing and perfect image is used in a women’s hygiene ad.

Working on purpose does not mean that everyday is a cakewalk. There were plenty of times in my life when I thought that hitting a bumpy patch meant that I was on the wrong path completely.  I had wanted to stand forward as a healer and coach several times in my life. I would start.  Things would be challenging…I wasn’t making enough money or getting enough clients. I would feel stuck and figure that things weren’t meant to be.  I stopped. Went back to whatever I was doing before.  And that would be that. I did not realize that challenges can be part of the process.

Until I decided to push a little more.  I remember, almost 3 years ago now, standing in my kitchen having a real good talking to with myself.  I had just been fired. I knew what I wanted. I promised myself that no matter what I wouldn’t quit.  The only way to fail was to stop…and that was no longer on the table.  And guess what. I haven’t. And it rocks.

Some days it rocks so hard that I can’t help but do a dance around the house. Most days in fact.  But that took time. There was lots of growing. Lots of discomfort.  A few mistakes. Incredible amounts of fun. Love. Joy. What living in deep alignment with your purpose will do is enliven and enlighten your world. Even the rough days have an aliveness behind them.

My recommendation is a deep commitment to yourself and tons of support. Invest in yourself.  Work with a coach. A guide. A healer. A team of incredible friends. Whoever gets you and will hold for you as you move forward.  I would not be here today without my coach.  I get the privilege to do that for clients everyday as they stand forward in their purpose…and take big action to make magic.

I have said it before and I will say it again, your purpose is not an action step.  It’s not a job. A project.  A way of doing anything. It is an internal experience. From there we can, if we choose, find a job is in direct alignment with said purpose.  Or our job can be the thing that allows us to pursue our purpose in other ways.  Or we can know the real truth of purpose…every action we ever take can be imbued with that magical intention.  None of that, though, will make it easy.

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