Difficult Situations Make Powerful Allies

Have you ever had a day or say even a month - ok, maybe longer - where asking for help seemed to fall on deaf ears? You try and you try, yet things don't get better. Or worse yet, they do get better, only to fall apart later.


It took me years to learn to recognize this pattern as one of the most powerful allies in life. Hardship is very tough to see as an ally. (And I like to be clear that all hardship is not an ally. Sometimes we just believe things should be hard, so we do everything the hard way!) Hardship is not warm and supportive in the moment, but like other allies and guides, it can illuminate the way. Like a fine steel edge, sometimes we need to be tempered. This requires heat and friction. It wears us down --- down to a finely honed edge that can really get the job done. A blade that is not sharp causes a lot of damage!


It is often within hardship that we learn the skills we need to meet our purpose, stay in relationship, find or own strengths and limits. So how do we know whether we're just making things difficult or whether we are in the middle of a really big personal teaching that will give us fabulous life skills? This is not an important question. Regardless of the reason, the pathway out is the same.

The important question (and the key to moving on) is, "What is the teaching here for me?" As soon as one can understand and honor the personal lesson(s), the resistance to moving on eases - and often what seemed impossible now lies at your feet. And even better, you have the skills you need to handle it. This is a gift - don't step over it.

Following Passion, Following Joy

Last year during a reading with a client, the Angels offered information so simple and profound, I knew it was to be shared with more than just the client sitting with me that day.

"Follow your joy and find your purpose."

Some of us need to go back to when we were children to remember our joy - and it's worth the trip. The angels pointed out to us that we would be given both the gifts we needed and the love for doing whatever it is we are to do in this lifetime.

When we get the chance to experience someone following their passion, we become inspired. It is incredibly irresistable to engage with someone doing joyful and passionate work. I'm sharing with you today a story of an inspiring man I recently met and a glimpse at how his joy and passion serve the world.

I first met him at a lecture on a sunday evening early in the year. I was so tired I almost did not go. When I came in he was already speaking. His voice was quiet and on the slow side and I remember thinking I might just fall asleep. Then he started talking about tomatoes. His eyes twinkled, he smiled and told us about his passion. At one point he spoke about it being time to plant seeds for tomato starts. He became serious and said, "when you've got starts, your whole life changes - cause you've got babies to take care of". His face softened and joy flowed into the room.

The first day of the Farmer's Market, I headed down to get my tomato starts from Michael and took them home to climatize. I had been given some other tomato starts by a friend and even did a few starts of my own. Michael's starts were clearly different; they were really happy. The love, passion and joy Michael felt for them radiated through them.

Last week I was visiting a friend and admiring her garden. She told me about where each plant came from. When we got to tomatoes I looked at a few and thought, "those are Michael's", just before Willow said, "those three came from Michael."

Later that evening as I sat in my own garden among the tomatoes, I considered the words of the angels and how very right they were. I imagined all the joy and passion in every one of Michael's tomatoes and how that joy was feeding other people's lives throughout this county and beyond. I imagined all the people eating all the tomatoes that enjoyed the benefits of Michael's passion. They might never meet Michael, yet his joy and passion are flowing through their lives, inspiring them to move into their own unique and wonderful purpose. It was good to be able to see and touch (and in a few weeks, eat) this very real example of magic moving through the Universe - whether we know it consciously or not.

Thanks for the inspiration and the wonderful tomatoes, Michael!

What and how we do things do make a difference. Follow your joy and find your purpose.