End of the Trail or the Beginning?

by Alan Cohen

One of my favorite hiking trails on Maui leads to a magnificent hidden waterfall far off the beaten path. The path to the waterfall begins as an offshoot of a main trail in a county park. One day as I set out on the waterfall trail I noticed that county officials had posted a sign, "End of trail."

As I stepped over the sign onto the fun trail, I chuckled to think that what was advertised as the end of the trail was really the beginning of the trail. If hikers simply heeded public signs, they were led to believe their hike was over. If, however, they paid attention to their inner guide, they would discover that the hike was just getting good.

Sometimes in life it appears that we are at the end of our trail, when we are really at the beginning. If you take your direction from social signs, you will just follow the herd and be programmed by other people who think for you, and are guided primarily by fear.

But if you follow your joy-inspired inner voice of guidance, you will be led to experiences that far surpass any the sign-makers post. Buddha said, "To see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone."

On a cute TV sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina must pass a test of true love to rescue her boyfriend whom she has accidentally turned into a toad. Sabrina's initiation brings her to a swinging rope bridge over a fiery chasm, where her beloved awaits on the other side. The bridge is burning, and if Sabrina is going to get to her young man, she will have to make a leap of faith, now or never.

On Sabrina's side of the bridge are two signs. "True love" points over the bridge to her boyfriend, and "Safe Path" points back from where she came. "Maybe you should just take the safe path!" her boyfriend suggests. "No way!" Sabrina answers, "that just leads to the suburbs."

Often our true path is not the apparently safe one — but if we examine the "safe" path, it leads only to deadness and limitation. The only real safety lies in being true to our own self. What does your heart tell you is real for you? If you were to allow your authentic self to come forth, what would you be doing differently?

The only quality of character that will guide you reliably through the many changes happening in and around you, is realness. Trust who and what you are, and the universe will support you in miraculous ways.

My friend Donna Lynn had been seeking more fulfillment in her work, and when her company offered her a position on the night shift at a higher salary, she took it. While she had more leisure time during this shift, Donna Lynn noticed that the night cleaning crew was throwing away toilet paper rolls with toilet paper left on them. Donna Lynn felt this was a waste of a valuable resource that someone could use, so she collected these rolls and took them to a local homeless shelter. 

She found her involvement with this charity so rewarding that she became a volunteer coordinator, and then took a salaried position as director of a city-wide volunteer agency.

Donna Lynn's work was so successful that she gained national prominence and received an outstanding service award that brought her to Washington D.C. where she was honored by President and Mrs. Clinton, and met several past U.S. Presidents and their spouses — all as a result of a single spontaneous thought about a roll of toilet paper!

At this very moment the universe is trying to manifest miracles through your visions, intuitions, and longings. Imagine that your inklings are God's whispers to your heart. The same God that gave you the idea, will give you the means and support to see it through.

The world is being transformed through people like you, who love themselves enough to trust their inner guidance, and relax enough to let the universe take care of the means.

"I don't just want a job — I want to be inspired."

— Rene Zellweger in Jerry Maguire

Previous columns & articles by Alan Cohen.

About The Author

Alan Cohen is the author of many popular inspirational books, including the award-winning A Deep Breath of Life. For information about Alan’s seminars or to request a free catalog of Alan's books and tapes, call 1-800-462-3013 or visit Alan's web site at www.alancohen.com. Enrich your abundance by joining Alan for the innovative online Year of Living Prosperously. Contact Alan’s office at P.O. Box 835, Haiku, HI 96708, (800) 568-3079 or email: admin@alancohen.com.

Recommended book by this author:

"A Deep Breath of Life: Daily Inspiration for Heart-Centered Living" 
by Alan Cohen
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