Oh, the joy of having everything go right! Where everything is in flow, the job is good, your sales prospects are phenomenal, your kids are busy and happy, and all is well with the world. But, oh, the pain when things take a turn; maybe your sales calls stop being returned, your relationship goes sour, or something goes awry in your kid’s social life. Suddenly, your focus is on struggle—struggling to correct course as quickly as possible.
But struggling through isn’t the answer. We have two choices when it seems the Universe and all your good vibes have gone sour. The first choice is to let your ego cling for dear life to where you thought you were headed: do everything you can and push through; struggle, and focus on nothing else but trying to get everything exactly back to how it was. Sure, things might turn around, but there’s no joy when you are so driven by panic. As with the rushing ocean tide, the worst thing you can do is try to fight against the current.
The second choice you have when challenges are thrown in your path: Recognize that the Universe is pulling energy back for a reason, and the best thing you can do is acknowledge it and let go, understanding that, based on the Law of Rhythm, everything will be good again very soon.
There are several fundamental laws of the Universe, including the Law of Vibration, also known as the Law of Attraction. This law says that we are magnets and attract to us everything that matches our intention. A lesser known but very important natural law is the Law of Rhythm. The Law of Rhythm says that the Universe’s energies flow in and ebb out, just like the tides. It may seem counter to the Law of Attraction, causing us to wonder why the Universe would seem to pull back on our abundant energy that was leading us to the manifestation of what we wanted. But if your intention is strong, it is better to relax into where the Universe is pulling you, because there is a reason you are being brought there.
At the start of the year, my business was on a wonderful roll and I was dedicating great time and getting great results. It was good time. I put in long hours, but it gave me great joy. And I saw the rewards of steady focus. I set a lot of goals for myself as most entrepreneurs do; the goals were in reach and with my own visualization practice the next level was at my fingertips. But by the time the calendar turned to May, circumstances around me pushed me further and further from my vision for the business. Family stuff, helping my kids during intense times for school, and other matters forced me to push even harder to stay on top of the mission I had been rolling with. But now that this focus was based on fear of losing time and the circumstances weren’t the same anymore, it no longer gave me joy. I lost sight of where my mindful attention really needed to be—on family matters—and while my heart felt best in this family space, I’d think about the work efforts that I wasn’t keeping up with and judge and beat myself up for it.
I was speaking with a friend about this, describing the challenges of my current circumstances and how I was judging myself so harshly. While talking it through, I realized that I could point to a specific month in the future where most of the issues pulling me from my work would have come to pass and when I could go back to what I was doing. I recognized that I could let go of judgment and attachment to the outcome and that all would be okay. My friend noticed a glow come around me immediately. “Wow” she said. “Your whole complexion and demeanor completely changed when you realized it was okay to shift your focus to where you know it needs to be.”
Even those of us with a strong connection to our spirituality and the Universe are human and can forget that we are being supported. I had temporarily forgotten about the Law of Rhythm. The Universe was shifting me in another direction for a reason, and in my fight to keep everything where it was, I lost sight of the fact that I was meant to swing with it. When I recognized it and let go of where my ego told me to be, and instead went where the Universe was bringing me—to my heart, my children—wonderful things happened for us here at home. Not only that, many points of inspiration and ideas that came from that space have since leapfrogged my business growth. That never could have happened had I just been continuing on my merry way in the previous flow of abundant energy. Ultimately everything worked out the way it should, of course.
The Universe wants us to manifest what we want, wants us to feel joy, and wants us to live the life that we are intended to live. Sometimes that happens in the flow of abundance, and sometimes it happens in the ebb tide.
Recognize the tide going out and ride with it. Miracles happen when we take a deep breath and let ourselves get carried away.