Yes! Your Life Purpose Can Manifest During Adversity!
July 7, 2008 by CK Reyes
During periods of adversity, it might feel as if you are dying, but what if….
What if Adversity were G-d’s way to guide you to your purpose? What if there were an incredible lesson for you to learn or an insight that was waiting for you that turns you on to life? Might you be more willing to go with the flow? Might you be willing to surrender to what is happening so that you could find the gold in that dark?
I don’t deserve the bad things that happen to me!
Consider for a moment that we look at life through specific filters. Filters come with a 5-piece luggage set filled with beliefs, behaviors, and actions that we take from the filter. If we look through the filter of, “I don’t deserve the bad things that happen to me,” what do you think the behaviors will be? Well, first we have a belief that what is happening to me is bad. What follows is usually a series of disempowering thoughts and actions (or inaction). I might blame others for what is happening to me and I might make excuses for why I am not taking that action that would most assuredly move me through the adversity.
Every adversity is an opportunity to discover your purpose in life.
Living life through the filter of opportunity, you will be actively engaged in the process that moves you through the adversity and empowers you along the way. You will be taking responsibility for yourself and your thoughts. You will be using the trials that are in the space to further develop your spiritual gifts along the way.
How important is the discovery and manifestation of your purpose?
Ever heard of Jill Bolte Taylor? Jill, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, had a stroke at 37 years old and it took her 8 years to fully recover. EIGHT YEARS! Forget the fact that it is remarkable that she lived. A brain specialist had the opportunity to experience the very trauma she studied. After the stroke, she couldn’t understand language or communicate verbally. She lost her memory and didn’t even remember her own mother. I don’t know anyone that would consciously choose to have this experience, but at the end of a 4-part-series with Oprah, Jill says that she wouldn’t change anything because from her stroke, she identified her purpose. Wow! It sound like a valuable thing to me. You can also watch view her lecture at the end of this post.
We are here to support you in identifying your purpose without adversity, but if you are in the middle of it–recognize it for what it is and use it!
I remember praying every day, morning and night, for a better relationship with my husband. Maybe I wouldn’t have done so if I knew that the better relationship with him was living in separate states. I might have been too scared if I knew how my prayers would end up being answered, but the truth is that I have a better relationship with him. We have had more heartfelt talks since our separation than during our marriage. I have developed a deeper level of respect and admiration for him that I didn’t have access to while we were living together because I was too busy wanting something from him that he couldn’t give me.
As a result of being on my own, I have had to take care of myself. I finished my degree in psychology, I pursued my coaching training and certification and and began a successful coaching career, I met my business partner (yes, Michelle), and I started teaching classes and workshops. In the process I discovered my purpose and I still don’t have any idea how it will unfold, nor do I need to know. I am here to empower and I am here to connect. I started using something that I have been afraid to use all my life. My voice! I started using my voice to empower people to go after their dreams. I use my voice to connect us to each
I want to be clear that I could have blamed my husband for not giving me what I wanted and spent the past 5 years wallowing in my self pity and my failure and my pain. I could have made all kinds of excuses as to why my life isn’t turning out the way I planned and that I don’t have the energy or the commitment or the know how to make anything happen in my life. I could have played small my entire life and kept my mouth shut. I could have chosen to invest in my story instead of my future. I could have invested my energy in resentment and condemnation. I could have! How diesmpowering is that?
What adversity is showing up in your life right now?
No matter what it is, I promise you that you are not being punished! I promise you that if you are willing to learn and grow from your adversity, you will! I promise you that as you take responsibility for yourself and your situation, that you will move through it–even if it takes longer than you think it should. I promise you that as you surrender (I don’t mean give up!) to the situation exactly as it is, options will open up that you didn’t know existed. I promise you that when you look back on your adversity, the possibility is there for you to consider the adversity your greatest gifts–just like Jill does. I promise you that there are many ways you can find your spiritual gifts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Written by CK Reyes - CK is a Life Coach, Facilitator and Cheerleader of your Wildest Dreams! Contact CK from the tab above or leave your comment below.
[...] Yes! Your Life Purpose Can Manifest During Adversity! …that the better relationship with him was living in separate states. … that I didn’t have access to while we were living together because I… [...]
Thank you for this, and for sharing your own experiences, CK.
You are so right when you refer to adversity as an opportunity. It really is a chance for us to indulge in some introspection regarding the choices that we have made and the choices that we would like to make.
Surrender, too, is so important. I may not necessarily consciously invite adversity in, but when it occurs, I am able to accept it, and dare I say even love it :).
Mags,
What is an example of how adversity taught you or became a blessing in hindsight? I am curious!
I spent a year in college in the wrong curriculum when my counselor put me into Preprofessional Speech Pathology. This wasn’t a wasted year. When my son started having ear infections when he was 5 months old and had a hearing loss starting soon after because of burst eardrums that year in Speech Pathology came in handy. I used that knowledge to get my son into a preschool program at age 4 where he could start Speech Therapy and learn social skills to compensate for the skills that weren’t developing because of his hearing loss. By the time he was in 2nd grade, he no longer needed Speech Therapy. His speech was normal for a 7 year old. That year in college in the wrong curriculum kept my son from having a permanent hearing loss and speech impediment. That year was a blessing in disguise.
Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworkers last blog post..Independence, Not Just For A Day
WOW! Patricia, What a blessing. This is exactly what I am talking about…. Here is one for me. Why did I just move to a prison town? Why? I just know I am supposed to be here. I don’t know why! I would never choose to be here. But I surrender to the unknown and flow with my life. I could be complaining like crazy, but I am not. I am getting involved. I am meeting people. Yesterday, a woman I recently met told me she was starting a meditation class at the federal prison. She wants to get together for lunch. Now when I moved here, I knew it was for the prisons–but I’ve only been here a month! When we surrender to the flow of our lives, opportunities flow to us and we are OPEN to the reasons why! Thank G-d you were in the wrong class!
Everything in Divine time - just has not always been according to Wendy’s time. I am syncing up more effectively. I am in the storm of adversity today. I have chosen to step away from a group after four years of our lives being woven together. My community held me through my darkest hour of my mom’s death, a loss of my 20 year old son and the hospitalization of my husband who was in a near fatal car accident. Today we have reached a cross roads where the experience within the community has become toxic to me. I have lived by the understanding that relationships are for a reason , season or lifetime. I recognize this season has served it’s purpose. Like toys I have outgrown, I release. Living through the opportunity filter I see that I am clearing space for whatever is next.