“Oh, God, help me! And I walked faster, my thoughts pursuing me, and I began to run, my frozen shoes squealing like mice, but running didn’t help the thoughts to the left and right and behind me. But as I ran, The Arm, that good left arm, took hold of the situation and spoke soothingly: ease up, Kid, it’s loneliness, you’re all alone in the world; your father, your mother, your faith, they can’t help you, nobody helps anybody, you only help yourself, and that’s why I’m here, because we are inseparable, and we’ll take care of everything.“ 
~ John Fante, 

Running doesn’t help.  Sleeping, drugs or alcohol only create an illusion to make it go away for a little while.  No matter where you go or what you do, you can never get away from it. You are always there.  How many times have you said, “I just need to get away!” and you do…only to find out when you get to that “get away” place, nothing has changed but the scenery.

I don’t know about you, but lately my life has felt as if I am in the middle of a huge haboob (the word us Arizonians use for a dust storm)!  When I look in the mirror I see the same ole’ (notice I said “ole” and not “old!”) Chris but something has changed.  I look around my life and feel as if I am standing in a place where a haboob just moved through and wiped out everything in its path.  People that were in my life are gone or have changed drastically (or is it “I” that have changed?), what I used to do for my business to make money does not seem to be working anymore, my oldest child is choosing a path for her life, that although I know it is her choice, is very hard and painful for a parent to watch, and I have felt more alone lately than I ever have in my life.  What used to work no longer works and when I try to make the old work, things seem to just get worse.

So, I made a decision.  I remembered recently a conversation I had with a friend who said to me that when your life seems to be falling down around you all that means is that the finger of God has come down to touch your life…not even us humans can make that big of a mess!  In order for change to occur and new, beautiful things to enter our lives, “the old” has to go.  But we hang on for dear life…hanging onto that pole as the haboob winds toss us around screaming, “NO!  I won’t let go!”

Nothing of heavenly importance can be figured out with the human mind.  There is no logic to heaven.  If your life seems in chaos right now, rejoice!  That is a sure sign that God’s hand is in it, sweeping away the old (since you wouldn’t do it yourself because you were holding on so tight) so he can bring in the paradise and dreams you came here to experience.

So what was my decision?  To finally let go of the pole I was holding onto so tight and allow the haboob winds to take me in their arms.  Yes, there is a risk to just whipping around in the uncontrolled wind, but let me ask you this?  Trying to completely control the situation…how is that working for you?  I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s not anymore.  I choose to let God’s winds take me…take me home…take me to the next chapter in my life…wherever.  I choose to let God have my back.

“Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way.  But I have noticed during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.  I don’t understand why when I needed you the most you would leave me.”

The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.  During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
~Author Unknown, “Footprints“

Blowing in the wind,

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

For the next few days, you will have the distinct pleasure of being inspired by my 4 day trek across country to my new home in Scottsdale, AZ.  My bucket list buddy Donna and I are traveling in my lovely Chevy Cruze, affectionately named “Miguel,” trying to find things such as the “biggest ball of twine” on our way.  We are currently traveling through Pittsburgh, PA on our way to our next stop (11 hours from now) in St. Louis, MO.

Over the years, I have done quite a few road trips with friends and on my own.  I used to print out my maps ahead of time and have everything planned out before I left for my long journey.  As I have become the “experienced road warrior” I have found the beauty in getting “lost.”  Even though I now have a GPS, which I couldn’t live without, even the GPS “gets lost” at times.

For instance, when Donna and I arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday there was construction EVERYWHERE!  Our GPS, which we have come to rely on, went crazy because every time it tried to take us down a road, we ran into a detour or road block.  We eventually made it to our hotel, laughing hysterically that it took us an hour to travel 4 miles!

As in life, we need to have a guide, whether in the form of a map, a GPS or goals we set.  That map gives us an overall context of where we are going…the big picture (your vision), so to speak.  But once the journey begins, in order to experience the beauty of the journey, you must be open and flexible to how the journey presents itself.  The visions you have are the glasses you wear when you make the decisions you need to make on your journey.  But, the path that leads you to the vision is still an “unknown.”  And every once and a while, as you walk your path, your vision may change.  Be open to that change.  Remember, God has better seats than we do.  He can see a lot more from his vantage point than we can from ours.  Trust his path more than your own.

Allow yourself to be fully present, don’t be afraid to venture into new lands and allow the Universe to unfold itself to you.  Those “unknowns” we tend to be so afraid of are almost always where the miracles lie.  The paths that were not “in the plan” are usually the ones that lead us best to our vision.  Your only job is to be open, have unrelenting faith and be courageous enough to just take one more step.

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ~Andre Gide

Following the detour signs,

Chris

For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.

The word will either send shivers down your spine or get your adrenaline rushing to the point you can’t sit still.  Change. It is the only constant we have in life yet it sometimes gives us that feeling we get when we are sitting in the front seat of a roller coaster just before it is ready to take off.

For the first half of 2012 for many, many people, change has been an understatement.  Lives are shifting and making room for new and wonderful things to enter that have to do with the path you are going to follow from here on out…but in order for that to happen, things have to change…the old has to be cleared out to make room for the new to enter.  I know in my life in particular just in the last six months I have seen:  a sudden, very painful break-up of a relationship, a dramatic shift in my business; a loss of 20 pounds (Thank God!); my youngest daughter graduating from high school; my oldest daughter announcing she is pregnant (yes, I will be a 42-year-old grandmother in January!) and countless synchronistic events that have helped me make the decision to move my entire life 3000 miles west to Scottsdale, Arizona (and that’s not even all of it!).

I have always been intrigued by the deeper meaning of things, especially numbers.  I could not help but notice that in my new address in AZ there are five 5’s between my street address and my zip code!  So, I looked up the meaning of 5, 55 and 555 (I would have gone further but the book only went to 1,000).  Here is what I found:

5 = A significant change is occurring, always for the better.  It is a good idea to call upon Heaven for help with life changes.

55 = This is a period of “out with the old, in with the new.”  Welcome these changes, as they bring about new blessings.

555 = Huge changes are rumbling about your entire life!  To keep these changes on the highest possible course, be sure to keep your thoughts positive, and stay centered in prayer and affirmations.

(“Angel Numbers 101,” Doreen Virtue, PhD)

Releasing the old and getting ready for change, whether big or small can be scary.  We are familiar with the old; we know how to navigate it; we know how it feels and we can predict it pretty clearly.  New stuff?  Not so much.

Dealing with change and “the new” takes courage, stamina, a positive frame of mind and trust.  Yes, trust in the Divine but more importantly, trust in YOU!  Trust is not easy.  It is one of those things that we are asked to do and at first as we do it we feel as if we are walking in the dark with no light in sight.  But when we can turn that trust inwards and learn to trust ourselves, it is amazing how it isn’t as scary.  You see, when we put our trust in anything or anyone other than ourselves and the Divine, it WILL be scary.  It is an unknown based on how someone else thinks, how they feel and the mode in which they operate.  But trust in the Divine is simple…it consists solely of what I like to call “open heart living.”  Trusting those inner nudges you feel inside, acting on them and having pure faith that the plan of the Divine is at work in your heart guiding you every step of the way.  It is a team effort between you and God.

As you go about your day today, pay attention to those inner nudges you feel.  They may come across as a random thought, a strong feeling to do or not to do something or it may even be a dream you had last night that you can’t seem to get out of your head.  These are all ways the Divine speaks to you and helps guide you along your path.  Trust what comes through and whether it makes logical sense or not (the most Divine guidance usually makes NO logical sense what so ever…how else would they keep you praying!) take some small action toward your guidance.  Make a change in how you do one thing today!  When I give keynotes on change, I have the audience take off a piece of jewelry they have on their finger or wrist and ask them to put it on the other hand just for the day.  Weird sensation but it gives them the practice of living in the feeling of change.

Have fun with it, know you are safe and don’t be afraid to ask for help.  You are surrounded by more help than you know.  Just because you cannot physically see “them” does not mean they don’t exist.  Trust me… 😉

Living in the Unknown,

Chris

For more information about Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.

Safety and security are such basic needs for a human being that we do not even worry about our other needs if these two needs are not met…hence why it is at the bottom of Maslow’s famous pyramid!  We need to feel safe in order to function.  It is a basic need and one most would list as a top priority.  People will do anything to feel safe…even things that are not so noble such as steal, lie and cheat.  Not only do we need to feel safe physically, but we have emotional and mental safety needs as well.  When we feel unsafe we tend to soothe ourselves with certain things and we all have those specific things we go to that make us feel “safe.”

I remember watching the movie “The Kid” with Bruce Willis and there is a scene where he sees his child self in his kitchen and cannot believe what he is seeing.  He feels mentally and emotionally unsafe.  He frantically starts to make a sandwich and is repeating over and over again, “Safety in a sandwich!  Safety in a sandwich!”  We find comfort in food, people, places, songs, books, and sometimes unhealthy habits such as drinking, smoking or drugs.  Our ego drives this safety need so strongly (because it is afraid of dying) that it talks us into doing anything we need to in order to feel safe.

The problem is, what we usually find in these comforts of ours is a false sense of safety.  If we truly believed these things made us safe, why would we be looking for a comfort?  We are looking for a “known” and think if we know what is going to happen, have a plan and can predict the future, we are then safe.  This could not be further from the truth!  Our true safety is in the unknown…in faith and trust itself.  Faith in a higher power; faith in yourself; trust that the knowledge you have attained throughout your lifetime has turned into wisdom; and trust that if in your heart it feels right (regardless of what anyone else says – including your own head!) it IS right!

I recently had an experience I would like to share that exemplifies that we are always looked out for and the power in trusting the process of living in the unknown.  I decided a few months ago to move from MD, where I live now, to AZ.  It was a scary decision because it is a new place where I know almost no one and my family and friends live out East.  I decided to take the steps to do it anyway, found a friend to move in with to share expenses and started looking for a place to rent.  My friend found a house that is in the perfect location and is absolutely beautiful, so we put in an application and prayed we would get the house, knowing if we didn’t get this one we would get one eventually.  The next day I got an email from my assistant, Ruth titled “You won’t believe this!”  Ironically (or is it), the man who owns the house my friend and I put in an application for in AZ is the next door neighbor of my assistant in PA!!!  He saw her name on my website when he looked me up and proceeded to contact her and got a glowing (thank you Ruth!) unsolicited reference!  Needless to say, we got the house and I am moving in 3 weeks!  J  Coincidence or divine intervention?  You choose…

Make a decision today or this week where you will not know the outcome.  Take a chance and do something just because if feels right.  Don’t analyze it, scrutinize it or judge it.  Just do it!  Then, see what the Universe brings to your door.  Sometimes you have to close one door before another one will open…the lock on one unlocks the other.  Just try it…the only thing you have to lose is the chance.  And if you lose the chance, don’t worry, another one always comes around the corner…just wait and see 😉

Making a choice instead of standing still,

Chris

For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.