Goms came upon a beautiful piece by the poet Rumi this week and it really started a snowball effect of thinking about all of the events, births, deaths, happy times, sad times, moves, jobs, marriages, successes, failures,etc. that Goms has had in my time, so far, on this wonderful journey called "Life". The piece is called: THE GUEST HOUSE - and it goes like this; "This being human is like a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of it's furniture...still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice....meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."
How profound is that? We never know exactly why things happen in our lives but if we can think of it as being sent to us from God as a way of learning certain lessons, then it can begin to make some sense. Gommy has had many different events and happenings in my life, as have many who may be reading this right now have had in their lives. There have been extremely happy times, and there have been unbelievable sad times in Gommy's life. There have been moves to different houses and to different states, there have been career changes and business opportunities and failures....there have been many different people come in and out of Gommy's life and each one has had an impact, even if it was a huge impact or a small impact. Goms has learned many things from meeting so many different people. Each area of the country has their own way of looking at things, their religious bent, their politics, their home life, their biases, their family life and entertainments.....but the thing that is the same with everyone is that none of us knows for certain why things happen the way they do. Many of us are still asking the question...."Why are we here? What is our purpose in life?"
The poem says that we should welcome every 'visitor' into our home. Goms thinks that means that we should learn from each person, event, happiness, sadness, birth and death that touches us. Because, it all does touch us and we are all connected in this grand play we are all living called 'Life'.....And each one is a lesson to be learned.
Sometimes, we are afraid of something changing in our life. Say it is a financial crisis that is causing us to lose our business or our home. That is happening quite a bit lately with the economy tanking everywhere. Goms has personally gone through such a loss and if I could only have seen that by losing something, I gained something through that loss, it would have made that period of time a little easier to go through. I am now living by my family and we don't have to miss holidays, birthdays, visits with the grands and don't have to worry about 'what is going to happen' any longer! The burden is off and we can breathe once again. The lesson was, let go and the flow will take you to a better place.
The deaths that Goms has had to endure have been some of the lowest times in my life. But we all have to face losing loved ones sometime in our life. My own losses taught me to search my spiritual side and that has been a remarkable journey in itself. The lesson here is that you must accept what is. It is not going to change and the way you go forward in your life is a choice. You can either be bitter and withdraw or you can cherish the memories you have and value the people who you still have in your life even more. The lesson here for Gommy was that everyone becomes more precious when you realize you aren't going to have them forever.
So the next time something happens in your life, be it happy, sad, scary, exciting or whatever...stop and think,"What am I supposed to be learning from this?". And when someone comes into your life or leaves your life, also ask, "What am I supposed to learning from this?". There are lessons all around.....but we have to wake up and think about what we are supposed to be learning from the lesson.
The more Goms searches on this concept....the more I discover that there really seems to be no coincidences and everything does seem to happen for a reason. Sayings frequently come floating to Goms......like, "Serendipity is Gods way of staying anonymous". Or, "There are no coincidences....just God making miracles." It may explain why the man who stopped to get a band-aid for the blister on his foot on the morning of 9/11 was spared, or the person who goes back in the house to check if the coffee pot is turned off and later sees an accident at the intersection exactly where they would have been if they had left home without going back, or the person who misses their flight and learns of the plane they were going to take went down, or the little boy who was the only survivor in an airplane crash where no one really should have survived.....
Maybe this can all be attributed to synchronicity--(unpredictable instances of meaningful coincidence)- but Goms would like to think of it as God's way of handing down lessons for us to learn from. It makes for some pretty interesting thinking when something or someone comes into our lives. When there is a strong reaction to things or people or an event, that is the perfect time to ask yourself - what is the lesson here? So, Gommy wishes you happy thinking and discovering boys and girls.....Hope everyone has a remarkable weekend and the rest of your life for that matter!!!!!.....Hugs and Mush, Gommy
