Somewhere in the last five decades of life I discovered something interesting about the way our soul navigates. It’s method is quite different than our left brained culture’s insistence of focusing on one thing at a time and always having a measurable goal. On the face of it the soul almost looks like a classic case of ADD (attention deficit disorder).
I’ve been following the callings of my soul since I was a child although I didn't have a name for this then. The synchronicities that occurred and visions and insights that appeared just seemed like a path of breadcrumbs in a dark forest. For a long time, I had no idea where they led or what they meant in the bigger picture. I guess I just trusted these signs because at an instinctive level they felt solid and so I assumed they were leading me in a good direction. Plus, I had so few other options. This was a hidden blessing as it immensely focused my attention and aided the training of hearing, tracking, and trusting the Call of the Wild Soul.
As I grew older and became educated in the teachings of our left brained dominant culture and indoctrinated in its superiority, I learned that life is like an engineering project. Results are a literal and logical outcome of a linear sequence of actions. Begin with the end in mind and then just follow the step by step plan. Voila! Success. If you follow the sequence you get the same result as every other person. Just follow the directions and walk the well -marked and narrow path.
I still heard the Call as I got older but now it seemed at odds with what I was learning. For one thing, many people had life experiences and personal challenges that significantly interfered with their ability to follow these -one- size fits all directions. Even more curiously, I noticed that the Call of my soul rarely seemed to take a straight path. It led me in directions that made no logical sense for where I thought I was supposed to be going. It called me to projects that I felt completely incompetent to undertake. More often than not it seemed to be distracting me from the goals I did have. It was if my soul had ADD. With no discernible destination it seemed to wander aimlessly researching passions, taking classes, pursuing projects and goals unrelated to my major focus in life. But for what? Frustration dominated as my goal oriented left brained orientation demanded to know where this was all leading? What was the focus? What was the destination?
The Universe always begins with the end in mind
Over the years my life results began to catch up with the quirky calls I'd followed and I noticed a certain pattern to otherwise unrelated paths I'd followed. What I’d been called to that had seemed distracting, irrelevant, or frivolous at the time revealed itself to be a critical piece of the puzzle that would be needed at a later place and time in the building of my life. Some kind of preparation was taking place beyond my horizon- readying external credentials, developing a necessary piece of the infrastructure of my character, building a crucial habit, overhauling a limiting mindset , etc so I could hold the new world I would eventually inhabit. All these “inconsequential” callings were in fact essential building blocks. They were resources I could call upon and wealth builders of every variety. All the guidance that hadn’t made sense at the time was leading somewhere definite.
I learned that far from being attention deficit the universe always begins with the end in mind. It is exquisitely focused with an astonishing attention to detail. In my experience this attention to detail is a key part of the magic, surprise and delight of the game of life. It’s an indication of the deeply personal way in which we are cared for and invited to collaborate with the Divine. Of course, life isn’t always delightful by any stretch of the imagination. But even with painful experiences we can often look back after the trauma has receded and recognize how our pain guided us toward higher ground.
Trust that the promptings of your soul are leading you in a focused direction. Let your soul lead the way. Then put your left brained skills to use where they shine: crafting a vision, making a detailed plan, acting step by step on that plan, trouble- shooting and problem solving, experimenting and revising, and being results focused until that project is complete. In this way we walk the soul’s path step- by- step, project by project beyond our limitations over the horizon.
Take a moment to look at your own life now. Think about what you felt called to that made no sense at the time or even what you now regard as a mistake. Now look deeper. What building block was being assembled? What vital wealth do you now possess: a formal or informal credential, life skill, insight, resolve, character trait, vision, or understanding of life’s mysteries?
Feel free to share in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you discovered.
