"What in your life is ready to change, but you don't know how it is going to happen," were some of the opening words that author, Charles Eisenstein, shared at his talk during last week's Women of Intention gathering.
I saw a post on Facebook a few weeks ago about Eisenstein being the guest speaker at this monthly gathering. Casually I have spoken with Eisenstein at a book signing, and at a potluck at his home at the invitation of his wife. I felt compelled, drawn to go to this talk, though I did not know why. After coming back late from Canada the night before, working all day, and teaching a meditation class right before his talk, I sat in my seat, notebook and pen in hand ready to listen. The books of this humble Yale graduate hold powerful words about the personal, social and economic transitions we are upon. I had no idea what the talk would be about, but I was ready.
Eisenstein said that a change is happening where the "mythology of ourselves" (such as Who Am I?) is becoming obsolete.
"Our old story told us who we were," said Eisenstein. He shared that perhaps we don't know who we are anymore because our story has changed; we are in the middle of our stories. Our lives are used to the pattern of planning and attempting to control reality outside of ourselves. Now, we are being called to let go of that old habit. In that space, we may find moments of change without knowing where it came from.
My daughter who is ready to submit college applications, has said she wished she had a book of answers. Something where she could pick her own adventure and flip to the back of the book, check out the outcome of her decision and only then decide if she truly should take that path. I laughed thinking of Eisenstein's words. If we don't know our story, how do we live life?
Recently, I watched Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday. She talked about the "hero's journey." In most mythology, there is a common story of how a hero develops. The start of a journey. Denial of new role. Acceptance of new role. Trials. Overcoming obstacles. However, according to Gilbert, women didn't have these stories. The heroes of fiction and history were men. Now women are looking to create their own heroes journey outside of the traditional role of women in those stories - married, mother, waiting for the hero to return home. Now she wants to be the hero and she is looking for her own quest.
We are standing in the middle of a shifting dynamic. Our lives were never completely predictable in the past. We were always at the mercy of the chaos that lives in the unmeasurable outcomes of each decision we make. Now it seems, we are ready to start learning how to let go, and live like a fish in the ocean, moving with the tide to get where we are meant to be.
