Wouldn’t you know it, last week was the most money I’ve made in a week since I quit my job. How is that even possible?
It’s funny really, I told myself from the beginning that I would not focus on the money… that I would live my life, doing what I loved and then the money would come.
This past week I lived life spontaneously. No rules, no regiment, just going where the wind blows. Somehow, I found myself running on most days, in the woods, on a trail somewhere.
There is something about nature that heals me. The wind in my hair, blowing it wildly around my face, while the trees stand tall like guardians around me. The ground beneath my feet is soft with each kiss from my sneakers, as my legs move me effortlessly on my path.
The sands of time stop falling as I make my way through the forest. I have no meeting to attend, no call waiting to be answered and the minutes could last for hours for all I know.
It’s blissful. My smile reaching from ear to ear as the sun warms my face and tans my skin.
I am home in this place.
I often find the perfect clearing along the way to stop and meditate. The forest is still compared to the business of street life, but it has its own busy chatter. I can hear the birds singing and the chipmunks chirping. Squirrels shake their tails as they run from tree to tree while the leaves of yesterday rustle in the wind as new one’s bud on the surrounding trees.
The forest is a place of beautiful chaos. Where death and rebirth collide in harmony and there is no mourning for what is lost. Rotting trees make homes where animals raise their newborns. Molding leaves give way to blossoming flowers, nurturing their roots with the goodness that was their life.
Nothing ever wasted or over used. Each tree, animal, flower and plant living in perfect harmony. The circle of life balancing itself according to each living thing’s need. Each species of life, living life spontaneously, while I spontaneously run through it.
When we give up control and trust that life has our backs, just like the birds in the trees and the trees themselves are provided for, so will we be provided for, with all that we need.
My prayer for us all is to resist nothing, embrace everything and turn nothing away. To accept everything that is thrown our way! All of it, stepping-stones to move us forward or push us in new directions.
Life is guiding us! We must open our eyes to the beauty that surrounds us. Knowing that it’s all for us. To experience, to enjoy, to live.
I am learning in life that things truly come to us effortlessly, but if we are not in alignment to receive them, we will miss out. Life, God, The Universe, call it what you will, sometimes has to push us to get us there.
I promise you it always starts as a gentle tug. Asking us to give up control and trust. When we are too stubborn to feel it’s gentle nudge it will persist with greater and greater force until we listen.
The universe’s frustration with us must be tremendous. It only wants what’s best for us, just as a mother does for their child. It will be relentless and persistence till it gets us on our path, never really understanding why we are only motivated by pain to move.
We should try to pay better attention to listen and feel for those gentle nudges in life, before they become violent impacts, because nature has a way of breaking what does no bend.
Take that moment in your day to sit, close your eyes, be quiet and see what life has to say. Perhaps you could try to get yourself in nature too. To see how the world really works, in harmony. Where even death has its part, and it’s not tragic.
The world does not work the way television and social media would like you to think it does. With turmoil, stress and suffering. Where wants outweigh needs and judgments and jealousy flow. Where we desire what’s our neighbors, and compare ourselves with the rest of the world.
Let us bring it back to basics and remind ourselves what life is really about.
Let us learn to live our lives spontaneously, much like the animals of the forest and children on a summer’s night do. Allowing the universe to put us exactly where we need to be, to experience this life fully, all the while taking care of our needs.
Write back soon. With so much LOVE, love Annie.
Day 64 of 90 meditating.
Well stated and beautifully written :-).
Thank you Lori!
This post is titled “How Living Life Spontaneously Makes You Money.” So naturally, I was expecting to read about how you made money by living spontaneously. But there is nothing in the post about how you made money.
You’ve already written many superb lead sentences that can be used to more accurately title this post. For example: “The sands of time stop falling as I make my way through the forest,” or “There is something about nature that heals me.” I suggest you should change the title.
You always do a great job of picking appropriate visuals for your posts. I especially liked that you included a selfie in the forest. Hopefully this is the start of a trend.
Hi Tom! I always love your feed back and I could see how you would have that point of view. As I stated in the opening paragraph, last week I had made the most money in one week since leaving my career back in January. I did not say exactly how, as I didn’t feel it was as important as that fact that I was provided for while simply just living my life spontaneously.
My intentions this whole time since leaving is to not focus on money, but to focus on doing the things that bring me joy and to live life more spontaneously and less rigid. In the mean time as I reflected back on last week I noticed that while doing all the things I love, I have been completely provided for. After coming off a trail run last week, I received a phone call asking if I could help someone out and they would be willing to pay me. Seeing that I really never have anywhere to be, I was able to help out my friend in need and make some money. I was also asked to cover someone’s shift at the gym last week, making additional money. All that along with my mobility and meditation classes that bring me income. The point is, none of those things feel like work and yet I was paid.
This blog was focusing on the letting go of worry about being “taken care of.” Much like the animals of the forest run about daily just living their lives spontaneously and without worry they are provided for. I loved to use the forest and the animals as an example of how we should live or lives. Trusting that our needs will always be met, as human beings, money is one of those things. So just as the Squirrel receives his acorns, I have been receiving mine 🙂
Thanks again for your feed back, and we shall see about the selfie as a new trend!
~Annie
Ok Tom… my boyfriend agreed lol I hope you find the new title and image more agreeable.