I’ve dedicated my life to helping people “wake up”, to have the realization that they have absolute control over their experiences here, that life is about joy, and that they not only deserve but have the ability to be happy. I feel honored to be a part of this process, and I get to see it happening all around me – in the people I meet, in the blogs I read, in the emails I’m sent and in random conversations I have with strangers. I’m obviously looking for these moments of insight and I’m attracting them en masse. It’s a beautiful thing to behold.

But one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the time, once these individuals get over the initial euphoria of realizing their own power, they immediately begin to beat up on themselves. “Why didn’t I realize this before? How could I have been so blind?” And they begin to imagine how great their lives would’ve been if only they’d been insightful enough to have this realization years ago (preferably at birth). They see the preceding years as somehow wasted, as if they’ve failed to live up to their potential. Until now, of course. Now that they “get it”, a new era can begin. Things will be so different. They’ll be better, not the failure they once were.

Here’s the thing: if you’ve had an awakening, an insight, any kind of epiphany (spiritual or otherwise) that makes you view the years that came before as wasted, I want to clarify something for you. You could not have had that realization if it hadn’t been for all those “wasted” years. Every experience you’ve had in your life, every moment, everything you learned about yourself and how the world works, every person you interacted with, every meeting you had, every breath you took has led up to you being right here right now. You weren’t failing all that time, you were in the process of remembering and it took as long as it took. This isn’t a competition, so stop judging it as one.

I’ve had a lot of epiphanies in my life, but the biggest one, the one that made it all snap into place was listening to the teachings of Abraham Hicks. I’d been reading their books for years, but spent a couple of months really immersing myself in the material, and suddenly, it all just fell into place. And naturally, I began to think that if only I’d had this breakthrough years before, I would’ve spared myself a lot of suffering. I would’ve created a very different kind of life. Surely, I would’ve had different relationships, different jobs and work environments, a different body, etc. I would’ve been happier. But then, as I looked back on my life, I realized a couple of things:

• If I’d been given an Abraham tape twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to listen to it. I would’ve thought it was weird. It would’ve made me uncomfortable. Their vibration would’ve been way too high for me to handle, and I wouldn’t have been able to hear the message. I would not have had a breakthrough. I simply wasn’t ready for this information then.
• I had a strong belief that in order to move forward, in order to “earn” any kind of growth or reward, I had to suffer first. And so, I created a lot of suffering in my life. But it was this suffering that caused me to ask for solutions with such intensity. I created so much pain in my life, that on several occasions I focused on nothing but finding a way to feel better. It was this intensity that led me to the knowledge I have today (and it keeps on coming.) In short, it was the suffering that drove me forward to finding the answers to my questions.
• Every person I met, every relationship and experience I had, even the really shitty ones, gave me another piece of the puzzle. They were all an important and integral part of an ongoing process. If I were to take any one of them away, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be here, in this spot, typing on this computer. I wouldn’t have had my breakthroughs and epiphanies, I wouldn’t know what I do, and I wouldn’t feel the way I feel. Each little event was part of getting me here, and since I love where I am and love where I’m going, I also have to love where I’ve been. I can’t change the past without completely wrecking the present.
• That big breakthrough may have been an important one for me, but it wasn’t the first and it most certainly wasn’t the last. I’ve had many, many insights since then, helping me to understand the details of how it all fits together. And I continue to have more and more. I seek them out.

People who have had a big realization tend to see their lives in two parts – before the epiphany and after. But that’s not really how it works. That epiphany is part of the process, too, and that process will continue.

If you’ve had an awakening, know that you had many mini-awakenings before this that led you to this point, and you’ll have a ton more after this that will continue to drive you forward. This may have been the one that made it all click, but it was more like reaching a critical mass – one small event that, added to a ton of others, created a large reaction. You’re not done. You never will be. You’re always going to have more questions, ask for more insights and have more and more realizations. You’re on the right path, you can’t not be, and you always were. You’ve led yourself here, to this point, at this time, because it’s the perfect place for you to be.

None of your life has been wasted, not one single moment. You haven’t failed, not ever. You’ve been on your way here, and even though you might’ve taken a detour here and there, and the road got a bit rough at times, you were always on your way here, to this place, to this moment, and you made it. Just as you’re going to continue to make it. You never, ever got it wrong. You may have not known what you know now, but you were on your way to knowing. Just as you don’t now know what you’ll know tomorrow, but you’re on your way.

Bless and be grateful for every experience you’ve ever had, every a-hole you’ve ever met, every bit of suffering you’ve ever created for yourself. They all brought you here, to this point, where perhaps you’re ready to realize that the exploring, the discovering, is the fun bit. We make it hard, because we humans decided at one point that it had to be. We make it complicated. But we don’t have to. Maybe, from now on, you’ll make your path a little easier, a little prettier (you don’t have to, but know that you can). Maybe from now on you’ll enjoy the process. Maybe you’re ready to look back on the road you’ve taken, not with regret, but with appreciation for bringing you here, and begin to look forward to what the road ahead might bring – rocky detours and all. Because if you think this place, where you are right now feels good, just wait until you see what you’ve got in store for yourself. 🙂