Personal Evolution

Change is an inevitable part of life.  There is no avoiding it.  Whether you like it or not, no matter how hard you try, change will eventually seek you out and there can be no escape from its clutches.  Every single thing that happens sends out ripples that affect our lives in unforeseen ways.  Often, at the moment the ripple catches you, the affects can seem negative or even destructive, taking away all that you once held dear.  Just like a fire that ravishes the land, burning and decimating the ancient and mighty trees of a forest, that have withstood many summer droughts and the biting cold of winters, change creates a landscape for new growth and new opportunity.  Quickly do the first new green shoots begin to appear in that blackened and scarred earth.  Change is a necessary part of the cycle of life.  To hold it back, is to try to hold back the raging torrent of a river.

From my own experiences, I can say without a shadow of doubt, that at the moment I began to see the possibility of walking the path of my own making, I began to change.  It was an inevitability.  There came a moment in time when my heart was awoken to the chance of a different path in life, and I think from that moment on, I began to become more spiritually aware.  The pivotal moment in my life, was the moment that I stood in Vörösmarty tér in Budapest, on a bitterly cold early January day, and I knew that something significant was taking place in my life.  Until that moment, I had never felt the voice of my heart so strongly.  From this moment on, everything changed.

But even though I was not yet on my true path, it was a necessary start and it was a huge step in the right direction.  Unbeknown to me at the time, it set in motion all of the events that would open my heart to the possibilities of life.  I met new people, made new friends, experienced a new culture, and through these things, I began to see life differently.  Looking back, I believe that I needed this spiritual awakening to occur before I was ready to step out and discover my true path.  Before this time, I was not ready.  I would have tried and maybe I would have failed to discover my calling, because my eyes and my heart were not yet truly open.  I imagine myself at this point in my life as a newly born foal.  Try as he might, the foal is unable to stand on his legs and walk for himself.  He is alive, there is no question, he knows what he needs to do, but until he has the strength, until he is truly ready, he is unable to stand and he is unable to walk.  He needs time.

Budapest marked the beginning of my personal evolution.  I use the term personal evolution because I see all of the changes that I have been through as a positive, growth experience.  I have evolved into the person I was always destined to be.  Life has shaped me and I have adapted.  And I will continue to evolve and adapt with each step along my path.

I believe the same will be true for anyone who begins to walk their path in life.  When you commit yourself to the life of which you always dreamed, you will awaken spiritually.  Perhaps it is a form of rebirth or regeneration.  It matters not what you call it, the importance is only that it occurs.  You are going to begin to see life differently.  You will begin to connect more deeply with everything around you.  You will start to lead your life not from the head, but from the heart.  And the heart is where we find love.  Once you step on to you path, everything changes.  You'll change. You'll grow in ways you never thought were possible.  You'll fly free and soar, because the chains of the old life are no longer binding you and holding you back.  You are going to turn into the most amazing and beautiful butterfly that flutters freely on the breeze.

For me, I know that I have changed from the person that I once saw when I looked in the mirror.  I have grown spiritually.  I now have a deep residual happiness and contentment that lies at the core of my being.  It permeates into everything that I do.  Even though there are times when things go wrong in my life, I am more easily able to overcome them, because I walk my path.  I feel more content with life.  I enjoy what I do, when I am doing it.  I exist in the moment.  I no longer fret about material possessions or the accumulation of monetary wealth.  My wealth comes from my experiences and what I carry in my head and in my heart.  Those are riches beyond comparison.  I see the beauty of nature and creation and I marvel at the miracles of life.  I have learned to open my soul and my heart without fear of the consequences or of retribution.  I am who I am, and I am happy to be me.  I learned to accept myself and all of my many faults and I have learned to forgive myself.  And I think this is the most powerful thing of all: I have learned to love myself.  All this has come because I dared to dream and I began to walk my path.

Perhaps it does not happen to everyone in the same way.  After all, each of us begins our path at different times in life and each path is unique to the person.  Every experience that you had before you began will have shaped the person that you are now.  Perhaps I was spiritually immature.  Perhaps you are further along the spiritual evolution than I was, or perhaps you are further behind.  That is not for anyone to judge and it is of no real importance or consequence.  The only thing that matters is that you take that first step and begin along your own path.  And as you do, change and evolution will begin.

Spiritually, I know that I have changed from the person I used to be.  By writing this post, I have come to another, very startling thought and realisation: What if I have not actually changed at all?  What if now, by walking my true path, the path of my own making, I have simply become the person I have always been, the person that has always resided inside of me, the person that I have kept hidden all these years through a sense of fear?  If that is true, then more than ever, I can say that I have given myself the ultimate gift.  Not only have I learned to love myself, but I have also given my true spirit freedom.  I have set myself free.  Now, that is a powerful thought indeed.

Without change and spiritual evolution, we cannot grow.  So, do not fight change, since change is rebirth, change is regeneration, change is opportunity and change is life.  Do not fear change, instead, fear stagnation.  Through stagnation, you will forever be lost.  Your spirit will forever be a silent voice inside of your heart.  Let it free. Take a chance on life.  Change and chance are intrinsically linked.  Without change, there is no chance.  Create some ripples, create some opportunities. And see the world in a way you never knew existed.  Go on, dare yourself.  Begin your own personal evolution.

_________________________