I just got back from teaching 2 yoga classes – cool, calm and collected. I left my car in a parking lot where I could park for 4 hours. It’s right where the bakery is and they opened a cafe and extended it outside as well. I didn’t eat breakfast in the morning, so I bought some bread and 2 pastries.
 I sit down in my car, put the key inside and check my phone. I have 10 minutes before my next meeting with an insurance agent. I need to sign two new insurance contracts for my company.
 I’ve decided to check my email and Skype. My team is working on a new project and I want to be sure that everything is running smoothly. I see a message from my webmaster. He is asking if I could access my website. I didn’t understand what he meant at first. I thought he wanted me to look in the admin panel. Then he said he couldn’t access the website. Last night we had been working on a new opt-in page together and adding a new OptimizePress plugin. Everything was running according to plan.
 And now no website at all!  Gone! With one message from Google: Can’t access the server. Hmmm.

My first thought: could it be that my domain has expired and payment hasn’t been processed? I hoped my webmaster was doing the backup of the website. I would not know what to do if the information contained within my site was gone… forever.

I couldn’t do anything from where I was in the parking lot, especially without my computer. I didn’t have the login details for my account with the web hosting company. When I finally got home, I called to technical support. They let me know that in fact, there were some DNS settings which weren’t updating correctly and that’s why my website is down. The main difference is that those settings are difficult to correct and sometimes it could take 4 – 48 hours!

So, what do you do in the face of a situation you can do nothing about, especially if your team is working on very important projects and the clock is ticking? 
There are thousands of situations like this happening all the time; those random struggles when it doesn’t go the way we want it to go.

There are two choices I could make: either react or find a solution.
 I could feel frustrated, angry, probably call many people and complain about web hosting. Or, I could think clearly and decide what to do about it.
Previously in situations like this, I’d feel helpless and powerless. There was nothing that I could do or control.

Now, this time it was different. Yes, it was still inconvenient. Yes, I was frustrated that my team couldn’t continue working. Yes, I didn’t like the idea that I might need to delay my project for one more week.
My reaction or response would depend on the decision I made.

I could choose to either trust life and know that there is something better happening and that I need to course correct for my upcoming project. Or I could understand that the Universe wasn’t supporting me and I shouldn’t continue with my project and have a total breakdown.

What are your assumptions about how smooth and clear or believe your path should be?

I know that part of my assumption was to believe that if I’m on my path, everything should be easy and flowing. Much later, I found out that I’m the one who is creating the ease and flow. And usually the Universe’s job is to check to see if I’m ready for my next level in showing me my weak points (where I need to evolve and course-correct). And usually the possibility to make a breakthrough lies in a breakdown. And the core feeling of being on the right path is trust.

Trust in yourself that you can respond to the situation at any given moment, trust in life that it totally supports you and trust in the process, that everything has it’s time and momentum.
 
What meaning are you giving to your challenges and unexpected situations? Do you believe “it was never meant to be?” Or does it force you to stick to your path even more?

October 2013 Issue