After 22 years of being employed, I went through a life-altering experience recently, one which took me a great deal of time to accept joyously. My husband believed that I was stretching myself mindlessly in the pursuit of the pay check at the end of the month and that I was missing out on the abundance that was in store for me, because I was stuck in a 'job'. While I could see how he could effortlessly do so many things, including handling his work life as Vice President - Marketing, I did not fully trust that there was much in store for me and that status quo was the order of the day. He strongly believed I should take the first step towards making the transition and the first role that we jointly discussed and agreed upon was that I'd graduate to being a full-fledged home-maker. As the deadline of 1st January 2009, the day I would not be walking into the 'office' anymore, I struggled hard with the final decision what with me being in a secure job, the “very real” prospects of a promotion looming large on the positive horizon, the economic meltdown and the related huge insecurities about looking a gift horse in the mouth on the other end of the spectrum.
As my insecurities grew, what I had unwittingly begun doing was doubting the blessings bestowed upon me by the Almighty, who when I came to think of it, was the one who had “allowed” me 22 years of uninterrupted employment, a rare happening in today’s uncertain times. But God ended my misery and forced me to break away. And now that I have finally surrendered to God’s plan for me, what I continue to discover and experience is his unconditional abundance and loads of tiny miracles each moment of every single day (no exaggeration!!!).
I was able to surrender to God’s plan of abundance for me through a very simple yet highly effective invocation which has transformed my life as I live each day through the life-altering decision. It goes as follows – “I invite the peacefulness within my being to help me find my life’s purpose with ease, peace, joy and abundance in every moment”.
As my insecurities grew, what I had unwittingly begun doing was doubting the blessings bestowed upon me by the Almighty, who when I came to think of it, was the one who had “allowed” me 22 years of uninterrupted employment, a rare happening in today’s uncertain times. But God ended my misery and forced me to break away. And now that I have finally surrendered to God’s plan for me, what I continue to discover and experience is his unconditional abundance and loads of tiny miracles each moment of every single day (no exaggeration!!!).
I was able to surrender to God’s plan of abundance for me through a very simple yet highly effective invocation which has transformed my life as I live each day through the life-altering decision. It goes as follows – “I invite the peacefulness within my being to help me find my life’s purpose with ease, peace, joy and abundance in every moment”.
It is a universal invocation and you can recite it as many times in a day as you feel like. After some time, you will not even need to utter it, your very being will “manifest” it. Then your heart will just belt it out with unconditional belief, and you will realise that your Maker is enabling every step such that it is leading you to your life’s purpose, one that is the best for you, as per HIS plan, in HIS time, for you.
Please write in with any questions that you might have around the Prayer of Abundance to pereiraandrea71@yahoo.in . We would be delighted to receive them. Remember always that the Universe is just waiting to bless the human beings who reside on it with these tiny miracles, all it takes is our mortal mindfulness and humility to receive them. Abundance always... andrea rodrigues
4 comments:
I really relate to this post! I found myself in a similar situation after the birth of my second child. I chose to stay home to raise our kids. Fortunately, we were not dependant upon any income that my music brought in. I have to admit, tho, that I found myself searching for my identity other than being Ians' mom or Caitlins' mom! For me, that was the difficult part and, even now that my kids have grown, I struggle with identity...not always, just occaissionally! Wish I knew you back whe my kids were little...I could have used your wonderful guidance!
I love your blog!
Hi Alison,
Thank you for your very personal sharing and generosity in passing on such positive feedback to me. It makes me want to continue to share this positive affirmation with as many people who cross my path each day.
The main challenge I faced was how to justify to the world at large that I needed to transition even without kids in my life. You must know that I would never have got through the various demons in my head without my husband’s unconditional love and support. Truly, I must have a load of positive karmas from my past life to have earned HIM. Please continue to keep the both of us in your prayers. I am very grateful to you for your comment on our blog. God bless…cheers…andrea
Dearest Andrea.....i should have been writing this a long time back but guess the 'delay' was God's will as he probably wanted me to get my thougths right before i comment.
If you recollect one day while driving back home from Mahim, i put forth my observation to you and Ivan, that I don't see too many of the Marinagar youth aspiring to be a doctor, engineer, chartered accountant, mba, etc, etc (in my view the so called successful professions around) and most of them getting into the relative easy and lucrative jobs in the airlines, call centres, etc. When we got back home, Cynthia told me that she didn't quite agree with my perspective and in her very plain simple way told me how she in her profession as an air-hostess did her job with dignity and to the best of her ability. She also mentioned that with her income she was able to buy a house, a gift for her parents so that after so many years of living in Mumbai they could have a decent place that they could call their home. I realized that the views that i had shared in the car earlier that afternoon showed that i had a skewed view of what actually constituted success. I began to question myself with questions such as.....who is more successful, parents of a child who's topped the medical entrance exams or the parents of a mentally challenged child? My eyes slowly began to open and I realized that in GOD'S eyes, true success is CHARACTER and not ACHIEVEMENT. So one can be a doctor, teacher, carpenter, domestic help, engineer, banker, plumber, coach, air-hotess, call centre employee, etc, etc,.....their profession does not matter to GOD....what truly matters is whether the person had GODLY CHARACTER.
Andrea, what I can see is that over the years GOD has honed, moulded and brought out that 'GODLY CHARACTER' in you and just like my wife Cynthia whom i've always proud of for the person that she is, I am proud for the person that you are.
So as you embark on your new profession as a 'HOME-MAKER', which to me (after seeing Cynthia embrace it) is one that's going to be extremely challeging..... but.......highly satisfying, we wish you the very best and pray that you continue to enjoy in God's abundance.
My dearest dearest Rohan…yes, honestly, it did worry me that you were replying to Ivan’s articles on the blog and not mine despite promising me that you would…but as usual, I decided to bide my time. I must confess that, every night, when Ivan would be smoking in the hall and I would be checking the net, I would go through the blog to check if there was any response from you…no luck…till out of the blue, lo and behold, Ivan mentioned that you had responded…what an out-of-the-world response!!! In your inimitable style, you have captured my heart yet again…God has blessed you with an amazingly clear thought process.
I recall the conversation and the afternoon very clearly (day – Sunday, 28 December 2008). After having spent 4 nights at your Mum’s place since we landed in Mahim on 24th December, we were on our way to Goregaon to drop you and your loved ones. Strange, but true - Cynthia and I have walked along parallel paths in our respective lives. I was a Secretary for 17 years, and while the whole world despised the profession, for me, it gave me my bread, butter and jam. Additionally, I was very well-respected in my profession, and had an impeccable reputation for being high (at all times) on closure of tasks. I was drawing a fantastic salary and also able to buy myself a 2 BHK home in Thane without any housing loan. All of the Managing Directors I worked with (as their Executive Assistant) have only good things to say about me, and my mother was very proud of me. Why go so far? My mother was a Secretary for 45 years and she supported us single-handedly, bringing me up with dignity and respect.
I have had candid chats with Ivan where I have talked to him about how I would expect from him respect for who I have turned into and not respect for the position I am in. While its good to be ambitious and aspire, my heart was never in the rat race, and eventually, the Lord had His way. What I am extremely grateful for is the ability He blessed me with to earn an income for 22 years.
Today, as a homemaker, I am more aware of the dignity of labour and you cannot imagine the beautiful personal relationships I have cultivated with all the service-oriented human beings in our vicinity – from my Durga, to the dhoby, to the vegetable vendor, to the cobbler, to the guy who does our sofa covers, and the list can go on and on. Ivan always jokes with me to the effect that I find it easier to build and maintain relationships with the so-called downtrodden, but I’ve tried to explain to him that’s because I respect them and they respect me. The so-called buildingwallas (flat-owners) think that they are the cat’s whiskers and walk with their noses in the air. I have neither the inclination nor the time to pander to their whims and fancies. Having said that, if push comes to shove, I know how to move around in those circles but I personally prefer not to. That’s a conscious choice I make when I have to interact with “people with attitude (read bad behaviour)”.
I am enjoying every moment of my new life and marveling at the Almighty’s manifestations of his unconditional love for me. Thank you for the vote of confidence and for your steadfast love and support…May the Almighty continue to guide you, guard you and keep you under his protective mantle…your secret admirer and friend forever…andrea
Post a Comment