Our Preconceived Lives (1.19.23)

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I turned on the Disney movie Soul—it’s my favorite Disney movie and I highly recommend it, not only because it is an entertaining story, but because it is full of important messages.

I’ll save you the summary of the movie and get straight to the scene that sparked today’s note; the main character Joe Gardner and the Soul 22 are in a barbershop discussing the purpose of life. Ok, one important detail that will make the scene make a little more sense if you watch below—22 is occupying Joe Gardner’s body and Joe Gardner’s soul is in the cat’s body.

22, again in Joe Gardner’s body, is having a discussion with Joe’s barber Dez and poses the question, “they say you are born to do something, how do you figure out what that thing is?”

Dez confesses he wanted to be a veterinarian but ended up becoming a barber, for good reason. 22 assumes Dez is unhappy because he’s “stuck as a barber” when he was born to be a veterinarian—Dez quickly responds that he is “happy as a clam” as a barber—he found his authentic life.

In this short scene, we see Dez, who could have grown to be an unhappy person because the life he had in his mind did not play out the way he THOUGHT he wanted it to—the preconceived life he had for so long wasn’t meant for him. Instead of being bitter and feeling “stuck” as a barber, Dez embraced the opportunity to become a barber and found a career that he loves…a career that brings him purpose, fulfillment, and makes him happy.

Sure, he probably could have made more money as a veterinarian but there’s no guarantee it would have made him happier or led to a happier life. If I had to guess, Dez would have been a rich unhappy veterinarian instead of the wealthy, happy, fulfilled barber he became.

Yes, there’s a distinct difference between rich and happy…that’s a post for another day.

We all have preconceived ideas about who are supposed to be, how our life is supposed to go, and what we want to do. Sometimes those ideas come to fruition, but sometimes, maybe more often, they don’t go exactly as we planned and we are presented with the opportunity to be disappointed and bitter or to find the opportunity and beauty on the path we ended up on.

The Universe, or your Higher Power of choice, may have a different plan for you and you can meet that plan with resistance when it does not go the way you want it to OR you can embrace the new plan and trust that you are being guided to a life of happiness you didn’t know existed or was even possible.

I make no promises it will be easy to find the opportunity in the perceived disappointment of not becoming who you thought you were supposed to become…but think of Dez.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT

One final thought to consider…

This preconceived life that may not match your authentic life—where did it come from?

Did you conceive the life yourself, or is it based on the influences of others? Maybe the life you thought you were destined to live wasn’t even your own creation, and therefore, is not the authentic life you are supposed to live.

You should be less disappointed if you find yourself in this situation because you avoided living the life someone else chose for you and excited that you get to live the authentic life that aligns with who you really are.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC