Change begins with you.
Joy is an Inside Job
I was raised to be a man of integrity, faith, and service and have always been very active in my community, both at home and around the world. My first career as a minister and missionary took me to some of the roughest communities in the world.
Those communities taught me the source of all joy.
With nothing to call their own, including personal safety or the security of a home or income, they still beam with happiness, their smiles radiating an inner peace worth more than anything money can buy. From remote villages in Africa to the garbage-infested shores of the Dominican Republic communities, my experiences at home and abroad have taught me the value of nurturing the wellspring of abundant joy, my heart space.
Circumstances are Temporary
After a devastating divorce many years ago, I found myself in a city I barely knew without a home or vehicle. I worked day and night using my bicycle for transportation and sleeping in a tent on the outskirts of the city. Without the safety of four walls or a reliable vehicle, I tried to reconcile my dire circumstances with my beliefs about prosperity and abundance.
My purpose whispered to me during this dark time, but I couldn't hear it. I was lost for the moment, almost overcome by the weight of my disappointment and despair.
Things Always Get Better
I remember the moment I realized the extraordinary design of my human experience.
I was meditating early on a frosty November morning, quietly observing the leafless trees surrounding me, their bare branches swaying in the wind. The trees did not care that their leaves had withered and fallen to the ground, leaving naked limbs exposed for the winter. Their desolate appearance gave little indication of their glorious beauty in the spring when buds form into leaves, and birds sing from their branches.
The trees are a reminder of the complex cycle of life, death, and renewal. I realized that the desolation I felt at this moment was not the end of my story. I, like the tree, would adapt. Renewal and abundance were waiting for me just around the corner.
You’re Right Where You Need To Be
Along the path to greater self-awareness, I accepted that I couldn't undo the past to ease my conscience or validate my dreams.
Instead, I found riches hidden in the life I'd lived so far. Meaningful relationships that surprised me with their depth and compassion resurfaced. It seemed the people I had neglected the most were the ones who made an effort to connect and offer support.
I realized I hadn't t backtracked after all. My destiny hadn't changed. I'd traded my comfortable lifestyle, social status, marriage, and career for greater self-compassion, insight, purpose, and the conviction that I was right where I needed to be.
Change Happens For You
Many years have passed since that profoundly transformative time. I returned to university to complete a graduate degree in Counselling Psychology. I met and married my life partner, who has become my greatest inspiration as we collaborate to fulfill our individual and collective dreams.
My life purpose is crystal clear, and I don't question what I know I'm called to do. Every day feels like a new beginning, and I’m incredibly grateful for the gift of each moment.
The key to this reengineering of my life was the beautiful miracle of change. I persevered through painful self-reflection and accountability and accepted this profound truth: change happens for you, not to you.