new beginnings....

Today a friend faced a challenge that could affect his family and lifestyle and my heart went out to him. The details are not important... what is important is to recognise that its normal in the world we live in today, to find the people we care about in situations where they get challenged to their very core. The changes to their life sometimes come suddenly and these changes are also taking place at a more rapid rate...at least it feels like it to me. So what do you do when a friend is down and out? Most people say they are sorry and offer to help but then because its uncomfortable as it could be 'you' in that situation, they tend to try and sweep it under the carpet and pretend its not there. This does not work for me as I get this nagging feeling inside me that wont go away till I do something about it. I feel sad for my friend and I had the opportunity to speak to him and tell him that I want to help in anyway I can. To this he replied, " I just need to know that you are my friend" ....here is the answer to the question of what we do when friends get into trouble.... we stay their friend. Someone I know said to me this morning, "you never know who your friends are till you get into trouble"Sometimes when I am the one affected, I get sent angels ... usually they come in the form of people whom I never thought cared that much about me. I see these people as messengers from God/the universe, telling me that I am loved and that things are going to be OK after all. In fact , I stay tuned in to a higher vibration for inspiration and look out for messages to lift me and help me keep heart. It could come in the form of a song, a phrase , book title , newspaper...anything that catches my attention. I keep my mind focused on the ways I am being helped and keep being grateful for that. When I do this, something shifts inside me and outside me...suddenly the opportunities to lift me out of my situation increase and come at a faster pace. Its hard to do this when you feel fear and concern about the future but i feel that's its the only way. What we give our attention to becomes our reality and if we focus all our energy on the outcomes we want out of life, this is what we create in our lives. For me, the trick is in forgiving and letting go of pain and hurt... and no matter what i say about anyone ( and I do sometimes when I am agitated) ...when I wake up in the morning its a new day... a clean slate to create what i want.Everything in our life is a blessing ...even things we don't like at that moment in time.. because they all culminate into a positive outcome eventually...its whether we have eyes to see this.Reminds me of the story of the man who sat on the roof of his house praying for God to come and save him... but whenever a rescue boat came along , he refused help because he was waiting for God to come and save him. When he died, he asked God why God didn't come to his rescue and God said " I did, I sent several people to come and rescue you but you refused my help"The "angels" are everywhere, and they come in many forms ...and in order to spot them...we need to first just affirm that help is coming our way.We carry around our hurt and burdens and because our hands are so full with this that we have no place for the gifts and treasures that come our way. My dad used to say, " you can only hold one thought in your mind at any one point in time...choose your thoughts carefully"I read a story about two monks taking a journey from one monastery to another. A younger monk and an older monk. They were about to cross a river when they spotted a young woman struggling to cross the river. The older monk carried her across the river and when they got to the other side, he left her at the river bank and continued walking with the younger monk to the monastery After three days of walking , the finally arrived at the monastery and just before they entered the monastery.. the younger monk could not hold it anymore and he told the older monk that he is upset with him because he carried that lady across the river... how could he as a monk touch a woman, let alone carry her. The older monk turned around to the younger monk and said something like this" I left the lady at the river bank, three days ago , why are you still carrying her?"Carrying negative thoughts about anything only hurts the person carrying it and it prevents one from manifesting the future they want. In Hindu culture they talk about "Maya" meaning illusion... the trick is to see past how things appear to be and instead to see how things are meant to be.Its meant to be one brilliant journey...or as Stuart Wilde puts it " life was never meant to be a struggle, its a gentle progression from one place to another.