Getting up to speed

We all set intentions, consciously and unconsciously. We may not know it, but we do. We set intentions when we intend for things to happen in our life. Some intentions are more powerful than other intentions. The power of an intention is determined by the power of the desire that fueled it. The great thing about intentions is that Life always meets us half-way. All we have to do is set the intention and then Life creates the right circumstances for us to fulfill it. The only thing is that the right circumstances are not always desired circumstances. Conscious intention-setting is a powerful way to invite change into your life. When we set intentions consciously, we are most likely to recognize the circumstances that help us fulfill them. Although, in my experience, most of the time, while Life keeps its end of the agreement, I am blind to it. Usually because I did not expect the right circumstances to be disguised the way they are, or simply because I perceive them to be wrong instead of right. Last week, I set the intention to be more loving. I literally asked: How can I be more loving?

Later that day, I was driving on what I consider to be one of the worst pieces of freeway in the Netherlands. Only four lanes, extremely crowded and loads and loads and loads of international trucks equipped with both speed limiters and drivers that nevertheless feel the need to overtake trucks that only drive 1km/h slower, even though there is an abundance of signs telling them not to. Over the years, I have become a lot more relaxed behind the wheel, most of the time I don’t get too stressed over the behavior of other drivers, but not that day. That afternoon, the Universe unleashed driver after driver who either tried to crawl into my trunk, car and all, or made me brake for my life because they imagined there was still enough room between my car and the one in front of me. Soon, very soon, I was praying for Q to instantly upgrade my car to a Bond car, and equip it with machine guns, missile launchers and caltrops.

It was only when I got home that I realized that Life had fulfilled its part of our agreement, but that I had failed to recognize it and respond to it in a way that would have gotten me up to speed with who I had asked to be. That afternoon on the highway, I had ample opportunity to practice being more loving, but I didn’t. Quite the opposite, actually. Instead of beating myself up over that, I chose to respond lovingly to this so-called failure and laughed at the irony of it. Failing to recognize opportunities for growth is not a big deal, it’s just part of our learning process.  There will be no end to the situations we need to fulfill our intention, until we do.

What I know for sure is that, no matter our belief system, the most effective way to deal with life is to look at everything that happens to us as if it is happening for us, as if somehow, consciously or unconsciously, we invited it into our life. When we look at the shit in our lives as if we somehow lovingly intended it to happen, as if, on some level, we chose to experience what is happening to us, then our response will change 180º. Even if you don’t believe in an organizing intelligence and this all seems like a load of BS, just play along for a moment and see what happens when you follow that line of reasoning, that’s how I started. It is my experience that once we start taking responsibility for the situation, instead of resisting it, and fighting it, we will try to figure out what is in it for us, we will find a way to find the good in what is happening, take that in, and move on. Because when we look for something to appreciate, we will find something to appreciate. It is as simple as that. Life is that simple. Happiness is. Life is happening anyway. So up the ante, live as if you chose this life, and get up to speed with all that you are.