Breathe and do not Resist

I want to share this because Andrea has been in my inbox for years now and although I don't fully believe in her worldview, I do receive a wealth of encouragement from her.

"For many years, I tried to keep my life tidy, clean and tended to judge others who had drama... or perhaps, more accurately, complexity. I can see now that thinking I was above drama (ha!) was the way I tried to manage my life, keep it simple and pared down because I wasn't sure I was capable of managing the mess of a real, full, life.

Sometimes it feels like the failures (even the tiny ones) will destroy me, so it's easier to say no than to say yes. But here's the thing: If we want to say yes to joy, we also have to say yes to uncertainty. It's like Brene Brown says, "You can't selectively numb emotion. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive ones." Saying yes to aliveness and joy might also mean saying yes to the discomfort of vulnerability, rejection, loss and all of the other things we prefer to avoid. 

Anyway, every once in a while I realize that I'm living a life I never envisioned for myself - 44 years old, divorced, several boyfriends, 2 children, my own business... you get the picture. So apparently even when you try with all your might to keep things simple and tidy it doesn't work out that way! Life is messy and full and I'm learning that that's okay.

"It's all been mapped," Kelly said. "It was mapped before you got here. You can't mess this up. There is no way for you to be off your path. Your only job is to breathe and not resist."

And I think there are two camps of people - those who are horrified by this, by the idea that their free will has been compromised - and those in Camp B (like myself) who feel utterly relieved by this news."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is my take-away; not that I'm Calvinistic because I'm somewhere in the middle. I believe that we do have free will and I believe that God has a path for us if we choose to follow Him. He has to modify that path often due to our free will and going our own ways but it's a path nonetheless. I love the "breathe and not resist" and the concept that if you numb the painful emotions you also numb the positive emotions.