“When I meditated on the word 'guidance,' I kept seeing 'dance' at the end of the word....When I saw G, I thought of God followed by U and I. God, U and I dance.” ~ Author Unknown
The above quote comes from a little piece that has been floating around the internet for years and recently crossed my path again.
It happened like this....
Not too long ago, someone I love dearly asked if I really believed god directs our path. That gave me pause because even though I firmly believe Source is always there for us, my personal beliefs about how god works in our lives have evolved.
Within each of us is a divine self, a soul, also called our Christed Self. I believe that divine self is eternal and sometimes inhabits human bodies in order to experience itself, reunite with its soul counterpart (Twin Soul or Twin Flame), and eventually experience reunion with Source.
I also believe firmly in free will. The ability to make choices and choose how we experience the results of those choices is critical to our awakening, to becoming more conscious and mindful of the experiences we create for ourselves.
So how does that fit with the conventional concept that god directs our paths?
Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe we have been giving god too much credit for making things happen when it is our own choices and responses that actually govern the course of our lives. Maybe saying that god directs us is a little too close to blaming god for whatever happens to us. Maybe god has ensured that all the resources we could ever need are available to us, then lovingly allows us to discover how to utilize them to our individual needs. And maybe seeing god as director is also ignoring our own awakening as we realize the mutuality of co-creating our enlightenment and reunion.
All this musing eventually brought me around to thinking about dancing as metaphor and sent me looking for this quote. Dancing is flow through shared space. It is co-creation and surrender. The two becoming as One. It is contributing while simultaneously releasing. The creation taking precedence over the individual creators.
Great dancers flow together without the need for one to try to force the other to do what they think they “should” do. Instead, there are gentle cues, slight tugs and nudges, as they lovingly become as One. I think those cues and nudges come from the many soulmates of all kinds that we encounter each and every day. When two people try to lead, chaos follows. When those same two people acquiesce to mutual guidance, the flow is magnified.
Soulmates of all kinds appear every single day to give us cues, nudge us, sometimes even tug us. Yes, they are our lovers, but they are also our family, friends, colleagues, enemies, strangers on the street and every single person we encounter. Kind of like a giant game of cosmic pinball...or gentle dancing.
The Purpose Driven Life was an extremely popular book a decade ago. It talked about the quest for meaning in our lives. I have come to the point of believing there is only one meaning and many different expressions of that meaning. We are here to remember who we are - divine in every way - and ultimately reunite with Source. How we do that is the stuff of our lives. Finding a reason to get up in the morning, a way to make a difference in the world, to become the change we want to see rather than railing against what we don’t like. That is Source acting as a homing signal, a beacon to our hearts’ deepest desires.
So I guess I no longer believe that god directs our paths like some semi-benevolent drill sergeant, but I do believe Source provides us with all the resources and nudges we need to navigate our way. Seeing my own relationship with god as a joyful co-creative dance has been freeing and restorative. Maybe even the foundation for unconditional love, for understanding the true nature of The Giver becomes the Receiver.
I hope you dance!
Anne Wade is Teacher, Writer, Mentor, and Coach for courageous women in midlife and beyond who want to disrupt their own status quo and design life on their own terms, even in turbulent times. She has developed the Becoming Found process of going within to find and address the inner barriers we have all inadvertently built up against love, happiness, health, wealth and any other desires of our hearts. Teaching women to unapologetically shine like a superstar and live their legacy is Anne’s mission.
You can follow her on her Facebook page “Anne Wade – Becoming found” or join her “Becoming Found” Facebook group.