A Cat’s Tale

I was just listening to a talk by motivational speaker Wayne Dyer where he was explaining how our thoughts and our imaginations create our success and happiness. He shared a wonderful parable that really spoke to how success and happiness naturally follow us when we start imagining the life we feel called to live and move confidently towards that. The story begins:

There was a little kitten and an alley cat. They're out in the alley and the little kitten is chasing his tail round and round. The old alley cat comes up to him and says, "What are you doing?" The little kitten replies, "I've just returned from cat philosophy school and I learned two things; that the most important thing in a world for a cat is happiness and that it's located in my tail. And what I'm doing is chasing and chasing my tail and as soon as I get a hold of it, I will have a lock on eternal happiness."

The old alley cat looks at him and says, "You know, I didn't have the same benefits you did. I have been out in the alley always scratching for my food for thirteen years but it's funny, I've learned the same thing you did in school. I've learned that happiness is the most important thing in the world for a cat and indeed that it is located in my tail. "But", he said, "the only difference between you and I is that I've found that if I go about my business and live my life the way I want to, it follows after me where ever I go".

 

How true! We need to stop chasing after success and happiness and realize that when we focus on the life we feel called to lead, they will indeed follow.

 

 

God does not create our lives on a budget

I heard someone say this recently and it felt like a big "aha" moment for me – it truly changed my mindset on how I approach living my purpose. We so often live our lives from a place of lack – lack of skills, lack of confidence, lack of money, lack of time, but we fail to recognize that our Creator is about abundance and not lack. He created us with the idea that we should lack for nothing. I truly believe we are part of a bigger divine purpose and once we understand what our unique purpose is within the context of a greater purpose, we can make a significant contribution that is not only fulfilling for us personally but allows that greater divine purpose to shine more fully.

God has a very special and unique plan for each and every one of us that is interwoven into the lives of those who we directly and indirectly touch. I knew God would support us in fulfilling that plan but my actions and inner beliefs showed I didn't fully embrace that belief. When presented with an opportunity that I sensed was being given to me for a very special purpose but yet made me feel very uncomfortable, I'd question my ability to do what I sensed I was being asked to do or hold back financially, wanting that reassurance and confirmation of the how and the why before proceeding. That one statement, "God does not create our lives on a budget" almost instantly brought an awareness of how my actions were not aligning with beliefs. I suddenly recognized that I was allowing a mindset of lack overshadow my decisions and that in order to truly step out in His purpose for me, I had to embrace on a much deeper level that God truly does not operate from a position of lack. He will provide all we need at exactly the right time to manifest His ultimate plan and purpose for our life. He wants nothing more than to see that purpose come to life and be fulfilled. With that in mind, why would He hold anything from us?

If we sense we're making decisions from a position of lack, we need to look inward and examine where that lack is coming from. Are we living outside of our purpose and that sense of lack might be God nudging us to realign with our purpose or are we not trusting in Him to provide what we need? He would not provide us with an opportunity to move forward in our purpose and then hold back on what we need to make it happen. More times than not, I've discovered that God works through providing us with opportunities. For example, we may be provided with an opportunity that requires us to make a financial investment that feels uncomfortable given our current finances but it you are truly living in your purpose, I can promise you God will present you with another opportunity that will more than make up for that investment. You first must step out in faith in accepting that initial opportunity to get to and reap the benefit of the second opportunity. Whether or not we take that opportunity purely rests on our shoulders. We just need to be in tune and aware enough to recognize when those opportunities are presented to us and then have a willingness to step forward in complete faith and trust that this is the next step we are required to take without get caught up in the how or why. Once we can fully embrace that, the lack goes away and we can begin truly living a life fulfilling His purpose and experiencing the abundance He has for us all.