One of the beautiful Norwegian fjords I cruised through in early July.

Everything that is meant for you will find you.
From people, to moments, to things.
If it is for you, it will come.
Trust.

But to unlock it, you must first find you,
living your most authentic, best version of self;
connecting mind, body, spirit. That’s where the
true gifts of life and love are revealed.
~Angela Cullen*

Every single one of us has wanted things that we never got. Wanted them badly. I mean, if I had a buck for every romance I wanted to be true love …. and of course, it’s more than that. Not just romance. Sometimes we try and try but we don’t get what we want. But here’s the thing:

We can go to the ends of the earth, do every single thing within our power, and if something is not for us, we will not get it. It’s never going to happen.

But those things that ARE for us? They’ll find us, as long as we find ourselves. And finding ourselves is such an individual thing.

This must be the day to talk with you through memes, because here’s one that takes this post a step further.

Peter is a really interesting soul. I studied hypnotic regression with him for a year and count him among my most significant friends. And this truth connects for me to Angela’s. quote up top. As the words of sages often do.

Let’s be honest. Many of us do enjoy the idea of people meeting their karma (insert evil grin here) …but when it comes to holding those people in compassion, maybe we fall a little short. I know I have. Still do at times.

We fall short because often these are the people who have hurt us. It can be hard to see past our hurt. But as Angela points out, our goal should be to live our most authentic, best lives. I think most of us would agree that to do that we must access compassion for others and especially for those meeting their karma. Most especially those who have hurt us.

There’s a dynamic that’s been true all my life. I’ll work through something for a long time. Massage it. Cry about it. Bemoan it. Go to the ends of the earth to change it. Beat it to death. Yes, I am a total over-thinker.

And then, if all that fails, I DO have that Eureka! moment in which I see that there is nothing there for me. Because if it were for me, I’d have it. I don’t have it, so it’s not for me. At that point of recognition? I’m finally done.

I’m not mad, not upset–just done. If it’s a person, that person ceases to exist for me in the way they have in the past. Sometimes they almost completely disappear. I just don’t think about them.

In a way, that’s the first part of finding ourselves. Being “done.” The second part is feeling only compassion for those people. Because people who hurt others are going to face their karma sooner or later. And maybe what they’ve done “to” us is part of us facing our own karma.

Which brings me to another sage I know: Kai Skye, who is the artist formerly known as Brian Andreas, creator of the Storypeople. His work can be found all over both my houses; I started collecting his work in the 1990s and he’s one of the sages who has had the most influence on my life. (We writers not only overthink, we like word art that helps us overthink. As if we need the help.

The idea that we can hold the world close and let it make us into someone who can love it fully resonates for me. We can love all of it: the joy and the pain and all the stuff in between. All the hard stuff. Hold it close.

I believe that makes it easier to access the compassion Peter mentions.

As I say every time I write something like this, I am a work in progress. I have no answers, only questions. But I try to take Rilke’s advice and live the questions until the day that I can also live the answers.

And that? Is why I write.

*BTW Angela Cullen posted the first quote above when I was cruising the Norwegian fjords and I was awestruck by its truth. You’re probably wondering who she is. Angela was the amazing trainer and personal assistant to my favorite Formula 1 driver.until recently. Add her to the list of sages. She’s unique, uber-cool and shares tidbits of inspiration and wisdom almost daily.

Oh and my lovely healing and grief tools are still available in my shop, here.