Argh! I just turned the calendar and it’s already May! Where have the last four months gone? Already 2009 has been an extremely challenging year for me.

This may sound like an exaggeration but I feel like I’ve experienced the same amount of personal growth in the past four months as in my whole previous life. I won’t depress you with the details, needless to say my life has taken a whole different direction and my plans for the next five years and beyond have seriously ground to a halt.

When you go through a life-changing event it not only seriously screws with your plans but it can also be a tad difficult to let go of the past. Often what happens when we have one of these major ‘inconveniences’ to our dreams and aspirations is, whether we like it or not, they plonk us in a place I like to call the ‘crossroads of your destiny’. What happens here is that you can go one of two ways. You can continue down the nicely maintained bitumen road you’ve always gone that’s easy and familiar and pretty much takes you to the same place every time. OR you can veer off onto the dirt track. Sure, it’s a bit rough and there are potholes and washouts and roadkill. There are dark clouds overhead and long dead grass everywhere. Crows lament, hyenas lurk and deadly snakes slither.

BUT don’t let first appearances deceive you. If you look past the unpleasantness – towards the horizon – you will notice the sun is shining brightly. You may even hear the distant sound of music or catch a glimpse of green grass and flowers. There is fun, laughter and adventures and many, many opportunities to be found down this track. There is also a very good chance you will discover all the things you were searching for on the old road but never did.

When you’ve had your world stripped away and the future looks bleak, the last thing you want to do is step on a dirt track. But I urge you to do so. Turn down that rough and dusty track and take a chance. Put one foot in front of the other and then do it again. And again. Pretty soon the sun will be shining down on you and not long after that you will SMILE. Then you will look back and see that your old path is now just a dirt track with dark clouds, dead grass, crows, hyenas and snakes.

TWO HINTS FOR TRAVELLING ON THE ‘DIRT TRACK OF DESTINY’:

The present:

The past has no control over you unless you allow it to. Dwelling on the past when it is no longer relevant prevents you from creating and enjoying the present moment. Hint: look for joy in every moment of every day (because from little things big things grow).

The future:

Look to the future from the present moment, NOT from the past. What I mean is to mentally and emotionally disconnect from your old plans so you can dream up new opportunities and create new plans that are more in alignment with your new life (and possibly your true life’s purpose). Hint: visualise, enjoy and get excited about the new stuff and the old stuff with dissolve.

Tracey

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P.S. If you’re at a crossroad and you would like help, please email me.