The Gift of Having Been Lost

Hi Readers, I'm back!  I've done the work to self-promote my book and now I'm releasing my energies to get back to writing (the blog, just once per week, and my next book) and letting God* get to work to have the right people find it.  Thanks for all your support and please enjoy the blog again.  Post a response when you feel moved to do so and happy journaling.
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THE GIFT OF HAVING BEEN LOST:  What I am finding from my clients is that since having left corporate America in 2009, people have more work responsibilities than ever - ever greater numbers of direct reports, unending emails, routine task management once done by secretaries (scheduling, coordinating, responding to routine tasks).  People are getting lost in carrying through the to-dos.
What God* wants me to know is that getting to the top of the mountain after having been lost is so much sweeter because we can appreciate the struggles.  I wrote this after writing about my meditation experience.  Part of that experience is I teach meditation to people who are seeking peace from their chaotic worlds.  Meditation is a perfect way to help us find ourselves (to recognize our thoughts).  It's a way for us, in the words of Gautama Buddha, to find enlightenment.  Enlightenment, more specifically, is recognizing that we can experience peace and joy even amidst suffering and dissatisfaction and then experiencing the joy amidst the suffering and dissatisfaction.  The first part is simply acknowledgement.  The second part is by putting it into practice.  Meditation is one way to do this.  Spiritual Journaling is another. 
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1.  What is your definition of joy?

2.  What helps you to feel the joy amidst the dissatisfaction and suffering?

3.  What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).