Not long ago I purchased a new car that came complete with a GPS unit. I thought it was a great feature, because I am notorious for getting lost. But, I must admit that I don’t use it much. I think it is because I find it annoying to have someone tell me what to do in such detail.
It seems to bother her greatly when I decide to stray from the route she has set up for me. Then, I get irritated at her insistence that I make a “legal U-turn” as soon as possible and get back on the road she has mapped out for me. Pretty soon, I find myself arguing out loud with my very bossy GPS unit. Often, I end up turning her off. (My GPS has a female voice.)
It struck me that I sometimes do the very same thing with my intuition and my guides. I want the guidance they provide, but, I also think I know better than they do. I want to vary my route, make my own decisions and even make illegal U-turns every once in a while.
I believe that we all came into this life with a plan and a purpose. Before we are born, we meet with our guides and our friends in Spirit and map out a plan for our lives. Then, after we are born and as we age, we consciously forget the plan. In some deep part of us, though, the map still exists and our internal GPS continues to remind us when we have strayed too far from our original plan.
In some ways, we all want a road map of life. Many people come to me wanting to know predictions of what will happen next. They want the certainty of a guaranteed outcome…at least as long as it is what they desire. But, life doesn’t work that way. We live in a free-will universe. We can turn off the road we mapped out for ourselves, take detours, make unscheduled stops and even do a complete U-turn. We can ignore the map, turn off the GPS of life and head in whatever direction we choose.
It seems these two things are contrary to each other. On one hand, we have access to our internal guidance system (our intuition) and our external guidance system (our guides.) On the other hand, we have free will to ignore both of these systems. Like most of you, I suspect, I go back and forth between these two ways of being. Sometimes, I even enjoy being lost. After all, many of life’s greatest adventures occur spontaneously and without conscious planning. Then again, most of life’s greatest disasters occur because we didn’t listen to our guidance.
When I travel, I always like to have a plan. I am not one to set off on a journey without a rather certain itinerary. I do, however, allow myself to change it. I build in enough spontaneity to allow for the little delights that appear on the road. I also keep enough certainty to make sure I always have a place to sleep each night and enough money to get me home. I have learned that my comfort level demands both certainty and spontaneity.
I think that is the way I am in life, too. I need some security and and certainty, but I also crave excitement and adventure. In the end, perhaps we all come to earth to learn about balance. Maybe part of our purpose in coming to this life is to learn to trust our intuition, but also embrace free will.
In any event, my goal on my life’s journey is to do it with joy. I wish you all the same.
