There and Back Again

Hello Global Conversation Community. It is wonderful to be back into writing. Through all the chaos of the transition into college, my body, mind, and spirit certainly have not been in all the same state of Oneness. But now, there is more harmony in my life. There is more peace, there is more wellness, and there is more wholeness. And I am grateful for every moment I have of it.

But my story is not unique. It may be personal, but it’s incredibly far from original. Every second of every minute of every hour, people around the world are forgetting the path and finding it back again. In retrospect, it is impossible to lose the path, because every step of your journey is a part of it. But yet somehow we seem to lose our consciousness of that journey, and awareness of why we are on the journey at all. So, for me in the past month and for the rest of the world, I only ask, “Why do we lose the path?”

In the past, I would have said that the reason why is because society has told us to run away from the truth, to hide under the covers, to bury our heads in the sand. Yet now, being on my own, I’ve realized there’s far more to it than that.

It’s been easy to ‘pull the blame card on society’ all these years. We’ve been in a state where we have seemingly very little control over our lives. So when things are wrong, and we don’t like them, we point to our family, our friends, our state, country and government as the source of our problem. They said it wasn’t allowed, they said it was the wrong thing to do, they said that it would be a disappointment. With an accumulation of these thoughts, it has become a stigma of control loss.  And yet, once we finally do get into that state of freedom, we realize that the choice is completely ours. Society may tell attempt to tell us what to do, but at the end of the day, we know that are the ones making the final decision. On love, on life, on everything. It’s our internal choice.

Whatever we have decided has manifested our reality. IF we have decided fear, then we have CREATED fear. If we have decided guilt, then we have CREATED guilt. This is nothing new, nothing that is groundbreaking. However, it’s about being aware of those decisions. For the majority of the planet, the answer to the “why” question above is the external societal distractions. But now, look for that answer to the “why” internally.

At the very least, ask yourself daily:

Why did I choose to manifest this in my life?

IF you do this, you WILL learn A LOT about yourself. You will find things you don’t like. You will find things that you have attempted to hide or dissociate from. But being aware of these mental blocks, being conscious of these ego pitfalls, is what makes the difference. It’s what makes us remember the path that we are on. And knowing why, we can choose to bring back love, peace, and joy into those spots of chaos, confusion, and turmoil. And who doesn’t want that?

So, in retrospect, always understand your reason, and always understand your choice. When we stop asking, we lose ourselves, and we stumble in the dark. To walk so blindly is to live the ‘society’ way, and what has that led to but more loss of self? But to ask why is to always look at our purpose, at our meaning, at our very reason for life itself. And that is what I’ve discovered, and that is why I’m back for good.

(Lauren Rourk is a Feature Editor at The Global Conversation and attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She can be contacted at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)

Comments

8 responses to “There and Back Again”

  1. Maria Yunker Avatar
    Maria Yunker

    I enjoyed your insights and am encouraged to see someone in college, clearly on a conscious path of living! I loved the part about it being “impossible to lose the path because every step of your journey is part of it.” Reminds me to not be so harsh on myself because for a few days I am processing a lot of pain and then when I am ready to “get back on the horse” I am critical for not making more progress at living out my purpose. Thanks for re-reminding me that the pain is part of the path…I have not made a detour…I just don’t always really like the scenery.

  2. Lauren Rourk Avatar
    Lauren Rourk

    The pain IS apart of the path…it’s just what we choose to do about that pain sets our direction.
    To help remind me to stay on the path, I have a bunch of post-it notes all over my dorm desk with insight and questions. Having that visual and seeing it everyday really is a physical reminder of what is consciously known. Try it out!

  3. Dorothy Avatar
    Dorothy

    This is wonderful Lauren. I understand what you mean with not being in the state of oneness with university life which I find to be quite overwhelming and stressful and I need to work on incorporating my soul and body into the busyness of everyday life to keep a healthy balance rather than just letting my mind take over with only focusing on all the work I have to do. I’m curious as to what you’re studying in college and whether it relates to your spiritual journey? because I’m currently in my 2nd year of university studying fashion design and now I’m not sure if it is what I want to be focusing my life on but rather something that inspires and touches other people’s lives as much as mine.

    1. Lauren Rourk Avatar
      Lauren Rourk

      Life is wonderfully better when the mind, body, and spirit are aligned. Keeping that state is the most natural thing we can do. It only gets interrupted when our minds drift and throw us off balance.
      As to answer your question, I’m currently studying Civil Engineering, because (at the moment at least!) to be able to redesign the world requires not only spiritual skills, but also technical as well. And where else a better place to start than in our cities? But no matter what you are studying, YOU have the incredible power to impact others lives in spiritually significant ways. Through whatever median you choose, everything you manifest and create will change the world!

  4. Adrian Hindes Avatar
    Adrian Hindes

    I love how everything, including very much this article, tends to time itself juuuust perfectly.

    1. Lauren Rourk Avatar
      Lauren Rourk

      Cheers to the synchronicities of life. Everything does happen with meaning, and a mere article is no exception! NOW is the time to get recharged and refreshed in the spiritual realm! If you choose to, YOU will be it!

  5. Erin Avatar
    Erin

    Wow…College? Already? My favorite little teeny-bopper is now in college!?! My daughter is growing so very quickly, too, and at 16+ she is planning for the same route. How time does fly!
    Blessings, Sweetness, on your new adventures. Such a delight to share in your becomings! I know you will be no less than Amazing, & Am excitedly looking forward to the stories you will have to tell.
    Lots of Love, Little Woman. <3

    1. Lauren Rourk Avatar
      Lauren Rourk

      Thank you for your kind and wonderful words. Life at college is FULL of stories, FULL of experiences, and FULL of incredible spiritual energy. I WILL share my journey with all of you, and look forward to having YOUR journey shared with me. I love to hear your stories!

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