25. Don't stand in the way of other people's life purpose

Have you read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho? It's one of my favorite books.

The Alchemist is fable about a shepherd boy, Santiago, who receives a divine message about his life's true purpose. He decides to pursue his calling despite uncertainty, obstacles and roadblocks. Along the way, he encounters characters who propel him toward his dreams.

The Alchemist is full of spiritual lessons. One of my grand takeaways is that you must not stand in the way of someone on the road to his life's purpose. The universe (my word, not the author's) wants others to be believers, to be dreamers too, and help those who are pursuing their dreams. Your own journey may become clouded or obstructed if you are the kind of person who stands in the way.

I clung to this belief when my husband decided to change his career focus which led our family through a wild tangle of financial and lifestyle change and 8 years of relocations (we've only done 3 years so far). I knew it was his life's dream; we talked about it when we were dating almost a decade earlier. And, I believed in his calling.

He was bold enough to reach for the stars, and I believed the universe wanted me to go the same direction. So, I was willing to bear the burden of significant upheaval to support him.

It wasn't always easy. Actually it was never easy. That's another idea from The Alchemist. When you first purse your dreams, the universe will make it easy to go with the flow but then bigger and bigger obstacles will land in your path. That sure happened to us.

My husband is a thousand times happier now that he's on his new path. And that makes our whole family happier. It's been worth the turmoil.