Care of the Soul....

" It's a funny thing about life. If you refuse to settle for anything less than the best, that's what it will give you." W. Somerset Maugham

In the book of the Old Testament, the Israelites wandered through the Wilderness for forty years, searching. Metaphorically, most of us stumble through life's Wilderness about the same amount of time, mid-life, until we're ready to face the truths about ourselves: we are magnificent, extraordinary, loving and lovable beings of light. Yet, afraid of our true nature and our strengths...our light is what sends us out in search of the Promised Land. The only other choice is to stumble along, and settle. This is where the Wilderness comes in. It is Divine providence that during midlife we detour inward to ourselves after a lifetime of searching outward. In the Wilderness no one hears your heart tearing except God, who presumably sent you there to begin with. Ironically, according to the Old Testament story, the word Wilderness didn't mean a place of punishment, but rather a place of learning and understanding, spiritual growth, healing, and success. In the Wilderness we meet despair, broken hearts and pain; we lose the weaker and toxic parts of our personalities and gain the strength not to settle for anything less than finding your truth. The experience in the Wilderness is designed to prepare or propel you toward your destiny, to pry you loose from whatever was keeping you from knowing who you really are.

John O'Donohue reassures us in his book Anam Cara:
" For millions of years, before you arrived here, the dream of your individuality was carefully prepared. You were sent to a shape of destiny in which you would be able to express the special gift you bring to the world...Sometimes this gift may involve suffering and pain that can neither be accounted for nor explained...It is in the depths of your life that you will discover the invisible necessity that has brought you here."

We are sent to the Wilderness for one reason. To find our light.