Dear ,
Autumn has arrived and autumn is the time of harvest.
While I was out on one of my morning walks, I suddenly realized that I am, too, in the autumn of my life. And although most of you are not yet or far away from my age, I still thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts about it, because sooner or later you will be there, too.
What does it mean to be in the autumn of our life? We look back and many people might look at what they regret, what they lost, what was not meant to be, what did not happen. Or they think of what they might not have time any more to do or to achieve.
As most of you know I am also trained in Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy and I remembered what he said about the autumn of our life:
“…. man considers only the stubble field of transitoriness and overlooks the full granaries of the past. In the past, nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, on the contrary, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured.” (Viktor E. Frankl)
So I imagined how my granaries look like and I realized that they are full of everything that is part of my life.
They are filled with the most wonderful moments of my life as well as the most desperate. And looking back they are all of the same value, they are part of my life and they made me who I am today.
In the modern days we talk so much about finding one’s life purpose. It is like, if we found this purpose, everything would be ok and our life would be perfect.
In a recent session we had a representative position for the life purpose. In this position the focus went immediately to a card on the shelf. And the card said the following:
“May you always find
New roads to travel
New horizons to explore
New dreams to call your own”
It was a very touching moment and one of these moments that give you a sudden insight.
Life purpose is not one thing that can be found but we give our life a purpose and a meaning through what we do, through the roads we travel, through the horizons we explore and through our dreams.
Life purpose is not what you can find by looking ahead, but only by looking back and seeing the whole perspective.
Then we will realize that everything that happened in our life, every step we took, every hardship we went through, was part of our life’s puzzle that we continue to complete, piece by piece, until it will be accomplished the day we transit to another dimension.
Looking at the puzzle of my life (which I hope will take at least another 30 years to be accomplished) makes me smile and brings up a deep feeling of gratitude.
It took me 50 years to start doing what I am doing now – but without all the roads I traveled before, without all the new horizons I explored and without all my dreams (independently if they came true or not) I would not be who I am now and I would not be doing my work the way I am doing it.
So my harvest is the feeling inside of joy, contentment, love and connectedness. My harvest is connected to all of you and to everyone I meet during my life journey, to my students who sometimes become my teachers and to my teachers who sometimes become my students. To all my follow travelers.
My harvest message to your is the understanding that we always have a place in this world, no matter how lonely and desperate we might feel sometimes, and the trust that whatever happens, in the end we will realize that we have always been in the right place at the right time.
And as autumn is also the time of thanksgiving I want to express my gratitude to all of you who follow me, who trust me and who allow me to be part of their life journey. Thank you also for allowing me to grow through you and through our encounters.
I am sending my best wishes for a golden month of October in the spirit of love and reconciliation
Ursula
|
