You Can't Always Get What You Want

..and if you let go sometimes, you might just get what you need. Technology glitches, miscommunications, people not following through, crappy weather…….the list goes on and on if you are an adult in our society. So much is expected of us, and the level of complexity is astounding simply to survive. If you are a business owner as well, there is the added responsibility to have to stay “on top of” everything, if you are to thrive. Staying on top of everything is highly overrated, because with that attempt comes the belief that you can somehow manage and predict what your days will actually be like. I am all for having a plan, and make both a weekly and daily list, but attempting to adhere to those lists has created a great deal of suffering for me, and many of the people I have worked with over the years. I hear things like “I am not sure if I am procrastinating or if it is just not time for me to do this, “ or “I have tried and tried to write this copy for my website, but I am not happy with anything I am writing.” Sure, you may be procrastinating or avoiding a challenging task, and you may also not be ready to tackle what you had in mind. I have said this on more than one occasion: the reason is less relevant than what you do about it. And the answer is the same, every time: stop and breathe, and then extend compassion to yourself. If you are questioning something like that, you are in your head trying to figure it out. You will find no answers of real value there. It is always in your heart! We live in a culture of doing, doing, doing. It is endless and always will be. But there is the aspect of life I call Divine Timing, which is outside of linear time. The more connected you are to your heart and soul, the more you can begin to navigate the complexities of life in tune with Divine Timing, which always has you experiencing just what you need to be experiencing at any given moment. How often have you stressed about getting something done, only to find that it was not necessary in the first place? Maybe you gave yourself a hard time about it, rather than compassionately attuning to the rhythm of life, of which you are a part. Business has traditionally not been an area of life in which attuning to the rhythm of life or cultivating compassion has been valued. Those days are over. Even in some corporate settings, the value of emotional intelligence has been promoted, and the mystics are coming out of the closet with spiritual business practices. By making compassion as second nature as breathing, you will find that the critical and anxious voices in your head that keep you from thinking clearly will subside, and you will begin to do less and accomplish more. Compassion takes the drag out of life—the resistance to what is. It eliminates regret, because you learn to see that all is in perfect order. You are less likely to be plagued with resentment, because compassion for self naturally extends to others who may have disappointed or otherwise hurt us. So, no, you can’t always get what you want, but you can turn every single situation in your life into an opportunity to be more compassionate. If you find that you just cannot let go, and that you are struggling with the need to remai “on top of things,” this is the moment you need compassion the most. It is only a breath away, and changes everything! It is a good time to take the advice of Abraham, “No matter what the issue is, don’t try to justify why you don’t feel good. And don’t try to justify why you should feel differently. Don’t try to blame whatever it is you think the reason is that’s keeping you from feeling good. All of that is wasted effort. Just try to feel better right now.”