Source: Brian Johnson’s Philosophers Notes
It’s fitting that I received an email from Brian Johnson this morning with the quote “Follow your Bliss”, because this is the first piece of wisdom I “heard” when I began my healing 3 years ago. So I’m beginning my Philosophers Notes project with this quote from this book.
“Follow your bliss”
These 3 simple words prompt each of us to work out for ourselves, what it is that we truly love to do? What gets us all fired up? If we had all the time and money in the world, how would we choose to spend our time? It’s not about what other people want us to do; it’s what we want for ourselves. And once we know what that is, it’s straightforward. As Nike says “Just do it!”
When I first heard this quote I began to question what my bliss was. I made a commitment that when I found out what it was; I was going to follow it.
“A bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation: ‘As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It’s not as wide as you think.’ ”
A year ago, I knew 3 things. I wanted to run my own business. I wanted to increase the abundance in my life. I wanted to help other women. Then I received an email about the Quantum Success Coaching Academy owned by Christy Whitman and I knew that I wanted to be a life coach. But there was a problem. I was an accountant. I’d always loved numbers, not words. So although the idea seemed the right one, I was also full of doubt about whether I could be successful as a coach.
Thankfully, when I received the above email, I was on the “Rock Your Goddess Life” course with Alexandra Jaye Johnson, Brian’s wife. That week we were focused on a module about confidence, and somehow that week I gained the confidence to take my leap across the great chasm. And it wasn’t as wide as I thought. I signed up for the QSCA course, and I’ve been following my bliss ever since. I love coaching my clients, I love sharing my knowledge, and I love knowing that each day I’m inspiring others to follow their bliss too.
“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate’. Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, ‘This is what I need’. It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment – not discouragement – you will find the strength is there. Any disaster that you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have the chance to flow.
Then, when looking back at your life, you will see the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes”
Wow, that’s a long passage, but it’s a message of hope. If you’re dealing with loss at the moment it can feel as though you’re never going to get through it. We ask ourselves, “why me?”, “what did I do to deserve this?”. But if we can change our mindset, and just think of the possibility that this struggle, this disaster in our life, is just what we need to help us exhibit strength, to make us look at ourselves and see the opportunity for growth. It’s not easy, but the rewards are there if you’re prepared to try.
When my husband died, I could have spent years wallowing in self pity, blaming others for what had happened, being fearful of what future might lie ahead for me and my children. But 4 years later, I do love my fate. My husband’s death was the catalyst for me to become a more empowered, more loving, more compassionate, more appreciative person than I was before.
So what if you could look at your fate and believe that ‘This is what you need’? What would you do today, if you knew that this challenge will cause you to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, or transform from a caterpillar into the most beautiful butterfly?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
So true, although many life events seem overwhelming at the time, it is what we learn from them and how we grow and develop that is important.
OMG! I absolutely love this blog post! Simply incredible – I’m speechless at the power of these words.
Isn’t it incredible that a number of words which are quite ordinary on their own, can be so powerful when joined with others in a particular order. It amazes me every time!