By Emil Nazaryan
You are like a rocket with more than enough fuel to take you wherever you want to go in life.
“I want a job that is financially and spiritually rewarding, a job that will allow me to evolve, grow and make an impact on other people.” These are the exact notes I jotted down while traveling back home in an airplane on a cold winter day in 2014. I really hoped and believed that getting this kind of job would help to turn my life around. Did it happen? We’ll find out later. But as I was reflecting back on my life over the past 7 years, I realized that this note unconsciously initiated a chain of events that led to finding my life’s true journey. Perhaps this desire served as an invitation for the higher powers to lead me to my path.
Do you ever try to take a bird’s eye view of your life? Do you ever question if there is more to it? Do you ever wonder if change is possible? Have you ever looked deep within to find out who you really are? Do you know that you are like a rocket that has more than enough fuel inside to take you wherever you want?
Life is a journey. We are all in it. Everyone’s journey is special and unique. But do you know what your coordinates are for your own journey? Let’s look at three different stages and see if you can find yourself in any of these.
Stage 1: Life is mostly meaningless and sometimes hopeless. Everything seems to go against you. Job, family, health…You feel stuck, struggling in a vicious cycle and never getting anywhere. There’s always something or someone dragging you down and you don’t have the power to do anything about it. Even though occasional glimpses of hope arise here and there with some lucky breaks, permanent change seems impossible. Is this where you are in your journey? If yes, then you are not alone. By some accounts, at least 75 percent of the people in the world feel this way. But now you know where you are! You just became conscious of it. Now you are like a rocket, ready to take off. Just like it takes most energy for the rocket to overcome the pull of gravity in the first few seconds, in the same way, it will be most difficult for you to overcome this first stage. The gravity you will be fighting is your own mind, your habits, your beliefs and your paradigm. The takeoff requires complete reprogramming of your mind and it can be done by resolving to do so and asking for help from above. This will serve as your invitation to higher powers.
Stage 2: You already feel like you are in control of your life. You feel empowered and empower others. You don’t blame events and circumstances and take full responsibility for your actions and results. You enjoy worldly success, recognition and happiness. You are getting ahead by helping others get ahead with you. Challenges and hurdles don’t bother you as much as they did in the past because you know you have the power to overcome any of them. Is this where you are in your journey? If you are, then you, that powerful rocket, are already cruising freely in space. In this stage it’s important to watch out for space junk, such as arrogance, pride, vanity and getting drunk with power. Any of these can send you right back to Earth or even destroy you. Humility, selflessness, charity and surrender will unlock the gateway to your next stage.
Stage 3: This stage is rather remarkable. You start realizing that not only are you the rocket, but also the space surrounding the rocket, the stars, the planets, the moon and everything else in the universe. You are a part and the whole. The sense of personality, separateness starts to diminish and you start experiencing life as a perfect unfolding of events. You are no longer striving to achieve, setting goals, looking for success. You remove all resistance and let whatever it is to be. Although worldly success may still descend upon you, it is no longer a motivator. You enjoy life to the fullest and take it as it comes. Most of your living is in the spiritual domain now. At this stage you have handed the reigns of your life to higher powers and you are just along for the ride, enjoying every bit of the journey. A feeling of a strong and constant connectedness with the universe is one of the telltale signs of this stage. Is this where you are in your journey? If yes, what’s next? Is there a fourth stage? I suspect there is, but it might be one that is impossible to explain with words.
If you found your coordinates to be in stages 2 and 3, then you know what to do. You’re already doing it. But what if you feel like you are still in stage one? Here and now, as we leave behind a most challenging year and more forward in 2022, I want to make you a promise. Life can be great, it should be great, it is great. If you don’t see it, it’s because your mind and your habits, like dark clouds, are blocking the stars from your view. Resolve that you are determined to reach the stars, that nothing will stop you. Nothing can stop you if you have made an irreversible decision. You, the rocket, are taking off. Don’t worry about not having the directions to the stars, the way will be shown to you if you allow it. Just keep your mind open, recognize the signs, and act on your hunches.
By the way, thank you for patiently waiting for the answer to the question in the beginning of the article! Did I get the job I was looking for? Well, I have a job that is financially and spiritually rewarding, a job that allows me to evolve, grow and make an impact on other people. But guess what? It’s the exact same job I had 7 years ago, only now I see it in an entirely different light. It wasn’t the job that was going to turn my life around, but my approach to it. Doing any work with love will make it feel enjoyable and rewarding.
Emil Nazaryan is a motivational writer and a contributor to the monthly Motivational Corner column of HR Realtor Magazine. He has undergone a spiritual transformation which has led the way to sharing the insights he has experienced with the others. He is well acquainted with all major spiritual traditions of the world, but it is the direct experience of the essence of these teachings that is responsible for the altered life outlook and the motivational articles that stem this. In his daily life Emil is a successful REALTOR and he resides in Norfolk, VA, with his wife and two children. Contact him by email at emil.rw@gmail.com.
