Stay the Course

Good morning. Thoughts upon waking up to 49 years old, ha.

Stay the Course

Without even realizing it, we recreate our families wherever we go, attracting those who either mirror our families of origin or teach us about the way we were raised...some of us grow further and realize that we are individuals ultimately separate from this past experience and all of a sudden, we evolve and break free, and the patterns around us begin to change, and it is terrifying, beautiful, freeing, and unique, because it's a great leap into the unknown.

All around, the pattern unfolds...some get divorced. Some join a church or a 12-step group. Some enter therapy or reaffirm a partnership. Perhaps health or financial problems roll in. Some run for the mountains or the sea. Others grab on to addictions. Some embrace yoga or acupuncture. Some lose their lives. Some rise up and change the entire course of their existence. Again, we suddenly feel like children and yet, the teachers seem to be missing, and we are shocked and confused; we are forced to look inward.

We have to begin to have faith in what rests inside our experience and hearts. Having this faith in ourselves is not an event; it is a process of uncovering the child inside, and it involves cavernous feelings full of rage, sorrow, laughter, joy, the whole gamut of emotions.

What happens is that we have to dig in deep, embrace the past, release it, and trust that we are becoming the teachers.

And then in turn, there is a greater irony involved. The greatest teachers are always still willing to learn. The greatest teachers are teachable. The greatest teachers know that the power rests inside the notion of humility. The greatest teachers never preach or give strict direction. The greatest teachers live inside this notion:  I don't know. The greatest teachers continue to ask questions and live not by command, but by example.

The greatest teachers are students of the unknown, which is untouchable by human hands. The greatest teachers are students of the mystery, that which we call "God," or unconditional love.

Throughout our lives, without even realizing it, we are learning how to receive and give unconditional love.

And maybe, everything I just wrote is wholly true. And maybe, everything I just wrote is absolutely ridiculous. What matters is that each day, I try to best be my authentic self, ask questions, and stay the course (albeit sometimes messy), and if I touch a heart, and if I share my experience with another human being without expectations, and if I add to the greater good, then I have done the universe's greatest work.

Each day, may I strive to be one of the greatest teachers. May I notice the ways that a new, beautiful, surprising form of love is entering my life.

C.A. MacConnell

<3 to you.