January 14, 2008
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The Universe Knows
Little voices inside my head keep screaming “I’ve gotta get caught up, I’ve gotta get caught up!” They have been rather insistent, recently– and to some degree they may be a reflection of the fact that I have been more of a slacker than usual, in recent weeks. Or has it been months? Not sure.
Anyway…
I was reflecting this morning (It IS Sunday, after all) on how the Universe seems to know what’s needed, even when I am clueless. In this case, I was thinking about it, on a “greater” scale. And I was thinking about it in that context where we just “know” something is right– or is going to happen– even though it seems wildly illogical and counterindicative at the time. In fact, we may be going in one direction, in pursuit of something we really want, and the Universe sends something our way that knocks us in the completely opposite direction. We get all dazed and confused, and feel like all is lost. And then, years down the road, everything turns out precisely as it is supposed to… and our retrospective insights show us that both the steps in the right AND wrong direction were precisely what was needed, and essential to the process of getting “here.”
Sounds pretty cryptic, huh?
A couple of examples, then.
I knew I wanted to move from Texas to the Seattle area as early as the late 1980′s, and yet I didn’t actually move until 2006. A whole bunch of things “came up,” to keep me anchored and unable to move. And it was the most annoying and frustrating thing in the world. And yet… as a friend of mine is fond of saying: “Wherever you go, you bring yourself along. So you’d better make sure the ‘yourself’ you’re bringing along is one you like.” All those years of delay helped me get rid of a bunch of baggage I wouldn’t have wanted to bring with me. The Universe knew…
I wanted to be a writer. But instead I got a degree in Finance. I worked in the business world– specifically in sales, marketing and advertising fields. I felt like a misfit, and it seemed like my world was just a waste of time. I got out of those fields, and spent several years roaming around, basically believing that I had wasted 20 years of my life, working at something “useless.” Now, I am coming to see that it is precisely all those marketing and networking skills that’s allowing me to sustain my odd home businesses… because I know how to “put myself out there” in front of others. And all those years of “futzing around” on the Internet… has actually provided me with an ocean of “touch points” that makes it all much easier than most people would experience. The Universe knew….
Maybe many of our downfalls come because we try to force things to happen before we are ready. I have certainly been given that impression, more than a few times. Maybe it’s true that patience IS a virtue. We tend to run, because we think we’ll end up dying before we get “it” all done.I try to remind myself– as I reach for the next thing I completely “know” is going to happen– that even though there are obstacles that would put any sane person off… ultimately, the Universe knows….
Comments (30)
Wow, that’s pretty bad considering the new year’s just started and you’re already behind!
As for wasting your life, only you can decide that. It is your life after all. Don’t let societal standards dictate how you feel about your achievements. Of course, I’m a fine one to talk since I am also not published yet, but I have…. excuses.
Ultimately, I have finally found a job that will use the degree I have… 28 years after graduating from college. And this time, it’s a job I actually want. I’m not just taking it because we need to pay bills.
This post came at a really serendipitous time for me. I’ve been learning about “ready” and “not ready” a lot lately too. For me, I got some peace by really thinking about the Eastern idea of killing the ego. Deepak Chopra wrote about it in terms not of killing the ego, but of expanding the ego to a broader perspective. Whenever you zoom out like that, time doesn’t carry the urgency that it does other times.
Remember time is an illusion – just something the Universe gave us so everything doesn’t happen all at once.
There is some comfort, if you can accept it, that we are exactly where we need to be….
That doesnt mean that we are, where we are to be stuck, but the moment is prime for what it is we need to know, discover, to taking steps forward to our goals. Its the right time to reflect upon the significant things we need to, to be still if we need to be still.
I think you’re right. I have a lot of STUFF that I’m sorting out and looking at, yet in the middle of it all, I have this ‘feeling’ it’s all going to be OK…. no matter what happens. Of course, that’s on my good days… on my bad days I don’t care if I get hit by a car. Fortunately, I have more good days than bad ones.
And just today, I have read the words “touch point” in two different places… odd words to hear for the first time together all in the span of a couple hours. What it means, has yet eluded me. But, I try to pay attention
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Lately I’ve had greater desire stirred up to move out to the North West. I don’t know what will come in my life, or when – but where you live sounds so very nice.
ryc- That’s why I liked the idea of expanding the ego rather than killing it… To try to be one’s greater self which is unconcerned with things like immediate results power trips or appearances. I’ve been around a bunch of philosophies trying to get hold of the ego trip. A lot of what I’ve read really addresses issues you and I have kind of moved past (I’m assuming)… which makes it a little more difficult to find ideas that address the ego issue as it applies to people like you and me. I am finding that reassigning ego stuff and letting go of old dreams is very liberating. Of course it’s heartbreaking sometimes to admit I’ll never fulfill some of my old dreams… but for some of those dreams, there’s still a chance. Being mad that I can’t do it RIGHT NOW is an ego issue – ego in conflict with the Universe and its timing.
That’s the context in which I was referring to ego death – not the harsh version you may have thought I was speaking of.
I think the universe shakes it’s head at me and says, “Mark, Mark, Mark!”
BTW, do you realize we could be twins? Weird.
yes, i like the attitude that we are acquiring a toolbox of skills, of sorts, and we may find that some of the ones we didn’t expect to use get pulled out now and then, and are really handy
I can relate! And with hindsight it is much easier to see how “wasted” efforts can in fact be very helpful later on! All in good time, right?
Thanks for your visit and comments. I think you are right–Most of us just watch it happen.
I am not the deep thinker like you. My wife sure is. Sometimes I just have to sit and let her talk, share, teach and confuse!!
I guess I was a pragmatist. I make some of my church friends upset because I say that I am not a ‘fatalistic Calvinist.’ lol I always attacked problems as long as I can remember. I was the solution looking guy. That is why I enjoyed management so much during my career. It was so much fun.
I have been to Seattle twice. All I remember is no sun, lots of lakes, and trees, and people who hated Californians.
Thanks for the visit. I appreciate it. Good Luck!!
frank
Peter, you are so right. I needed this reminder. I ‘know,’ too. Just working through the obstacles that aren’t really obstacles at all. They’re points of reference, being built now for use later.
There’s a body of water somewhere, waiting for me to find its shore and pitch my abode. Someday.
I have sometimes made things happen before I was ready now just wait for the Universe to surprise me. Judi
ryc – yes, and since the flight paths seem to generally be arcs, they make especially graceful patterns
10 years in a harsh relationship and almost 3 years working my way out of it….have given me a lot of relationship “smarts” that , combined with my verbal/writing skills, may indeed prove to be beneficial to a bigger picture than just my little old self, one day ….altho while *in* the relationship, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Abusive relationships are a secret, underground sect that really only people with direct experience understand fully….
A little sad and strange that my possible “skills” would have to be developed by mucking around with my emotions…..but whatever…..
Raising an autistic child is another of those secret sects, only parents of special needs children really get it. Skills to be acquired are aplenty in that arena also.
Since I moved to this island, I have been very in the moment and have felt that i am exactly where I am meant to be. That “am I getting anywhere with this” question is reserved only for spending so many years now single and working on myself….while I see and feel the benefits, I do wonder if I’m paddling the right creek. But then again, the other creeks all look dangerously shallow….and I’m not into getting my boat ripped up or my buttskin burned off anytime soon
ryc: “training wheels”-I like that metaphor.
FWIW, I have a degree in Biological Sciences (Anatomy Physiology concentration). While I’ve never “used” it in my work, per se, it got me my first job working in a university physics dept. … because I knew the difference between a sigma and a delta. Pretty important when you are preparing exams I guess. I fell into the work I do now because it was returning home to the place that took me in when I was a starving student, attempting to get said degree.
Great blog. Here’s me: Read … read … read … read … smile.
God (or as you refer to him here, the universe) spent the last 25 years teaching me everything I needed to know to be happy right now. None of the harsh lessons I learned could have been skipped. I sure wished I could have skipped them when I was learning them.
Thanks for stopping by.
First of all… the idea of you being Mark’s twin? Scary. Scary, indeed.
Second, since when did you start listening to those voices in your head again (the same ones you told me to ignore), hmm…
Got your message, thanks for checking on me.
Hey, have you been to the Seattle Aquarium? I heard it’s awesome.
Hit SEND….
Just stopping by again to say hello!
Not hearing from you lately! Thought of you yesterday and hope all is well.
the universe knows it’s time to update. Ha… kidding. i’ll w-a-i-t!
Hope you have a wonderous Valentines Day. Judi
I can’t slow down enough. My head say go faster. I have to delibertly slow down and meditate. Judi
Hello Peter! Just stopping by to let you know I’m thinking of you, and I hope all is well there. By the way, love the music on here.
(((Lots of hugs))) 
Hi Peter!! Missed you on here!! Hope you are doing well over there! (((Hugs)))
Did you have a nice Easter. Judi
How are you. I sure miss you. Judi