Is it possible to feel fully fulfilled?

by Estey Masten

Hi! I’m Estey (or Esperanza when I speak Spanish), and I’m the new TMC Youth blogger in town. I have volunteered to blog for many reasons, but the two most important ones are these: 1) I love connecting with other citizens of the world, and this blog is a perfect way to do it! 2) This is a great way for me to think introspectively about myself and realize where I need to go up higher and align myself with divine purpose.

For the past couple months, big, important—scary—questions have been bubbling up into my conscious awareness. How do I feel fulfilled in my life? Is it possible to feel fully fulfilled? Do I have to wait until I complete a checklist until I can be at peace and content? Where exactly does my sense of peace and harmony with the universe come from?

I’ve been doing my best to follow poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s advice from his book, “Letters to a Young Poet” where he says, “Live the questions now.” In order to be open to the answers, I have to earnestly, humbly, “live the questions.” If I’m scrambling around, pulling my hair out, and shouting for help, there is no room for God’s voice to permeate my thoughts. Instead, I let go of the steering wheel of my thoughts, and say, “God, you’ve got this. Let me know where you’d like me to go.” How freeing! As I let go and free myself from the desire to control my experience, I leave room for God’s will to shine through.

When I travel on an airplane, I naturally want to arrive at my destination safely. If I were a complete control freak, I’d need to fly the plane myself just to make sure that everything goes according to plan. But I have no idea how to fly an airplane. Likewise, I am not fully aware of God’s plan for my life. So what is the point of me trying to willfully control my experience?

The wiser decision is to let an expert pilot fly the plane and to let the best Pilot (God) guide my thoughts, and therefore my experiences. There’s no point in trying to willfully control my thoughts. Instead, I get quiet. I listen up with all of the simple humility and honesty I can manage. I quiet the rushing river of my thoughts to a still, serene lake, so I can see clearly what God is always telling me.

God’s messages often come to me as bits of my own thoughts. Sometimes I feel God’s love in a stranger’s smile or a child’s laugh. Sometimes I feel it in the snow on my cheeks, and sometimes I feel it when I first slide into my warm bed. God’s love is present everywhere, when we’re looking.

And sometimes I even feel God’s love when I feel awful. I recently felt God’s love right when I was in the middle of throwing up. And suddenly, I didn’t feel so helpless. I was alone in my house, sitting on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, but I felt a gentle presence embrace me right then. I felt still and calm, and soon I went into my bedroom to slip into a peaceful sleep. Are you asking, “Was God only speaking to you in that one moment when you suddenly felt at peace?” No, God was communicating to me the whole time. And by the whole time I mean every moment of every experience. I felt at peace when I decided to tune into what God was saying, not how my body was feeling or my frustration about being sick. This shift of thought happened as soon as I let God in. That’s all! In the morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day, without a trace of the illness.

So here’s my challenge to me—and to you, citizens of the world:

- Decide to feel completely content right now. This is your divine right!
- Let go of the steering wheel. Be still. Let God guide your thoughts. He’s the expert Pilot!
- Receive God’s love for you in all forms. Open your heart and let it flow in, nurturing, and uplifting you.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Happiness, Career, Stress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.