Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong?
You wake up late because your alarm didn’t go off. You spill coffee on your shirt. You can’t find your keys. Traffic is horrible. Someone cuts you off on the freeway. You finally get where you’re going and realize you left something important at home.
And somewhere around inconvenience number six, you look toward the heavens and say, “Okay, Universe. What are you trying to teach me?”
Maybe nothing.
Maybe you just lost your keys.
We have a tendency, especially when we’re spiritually minded, to assume that everything happening in our lives has some deeper spiritual meaning attached to it.
The relationship ended because the Universe is clearing the way for our soulmate.
The flight was canceled because Spirit was protecting us from something.
We didn’t get the job because the Universe has something better planned.
The washing machine broke because apparently our soul needed to learn something about perseverance while standing in three inches of water.
Sometimes there absolutely is a larger pattern unfolding.
But sometimes the washing machine just broke.
Spirit Isn’t Setting Traps for You
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is how often people believe the Universe is deliberately putting obstacles in their path to see how they’ll respond.
They’ll say, “I think Spirit is testing me.”
But I don’t see Spirit operating that way.
Your guides aren’t sitting on the Other Side saying, “She’s been doing really well lately. Let’s have her transmission fail and see if she can maintain a high vibration.”
They aren’t deliberately sending difficult people into your life to determine whether you’ve finally mastered boundaries.
And they’re not dangling your ex in front of you to see whether you’ve learned your lesson.
You don’t need to pass a series of cosmic examinations in order to graduate to the next level of your life.
Life itself provides plenty of opportunities for growth without Spirit manufacturing additional problems for you.
Sometimes Things Just Happen
We live in a world with billions of other people exercising free will.
People make decisions.
Bodies get sick.
Cars break down.
Companies restructure.
Flights get canceled.
Weather changes.
People fall in love and people fall out of love.
And sometimes you’re standing in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time when someone backs into your car in a grocery store parking lot.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Universe wanted your bumper smashed.
It may just mean Gary wasn’t looking behind him.
Not everything that happens to you was specifically arranged for you.
I think that’s actually good news.
Because if you believe every unpleasant thing that happens is a message from the Universe, you can drive yourself crazy trying to decipher it.
“What does this mean?”
“What am I supposed to learn?”
“Why did I manifest this?”
“What is Spirit trying to tell me?”
Sometimes the answer is: absolutely nothing.
Call the plumber.
But You Can Still Grow From It
Here’s where things get interesting.
Something doesn’t have to be sent to you in order for you to grow from it.
That’s an important distinction.
Spirit doesn’t have to cause your relationship to end for you to learn something about yourself through the breakup.
Your guides don’t have to arrange for you to lose your job for that experience to eventually lead you toward a career you love.
The Universe doesn’t have to give you a flat tire for you to meet the person who stops to help you.
Human beings are incredibly good at turning experiences into opportunities for growth.
And your guides are incredibly good at working with whatever circumstances arise.
That’s very different from believing they caused the circumstances in the first place.
Your Guides Work With What Happens
Think of your guides less like puppet masters and more like navigators.
They’re not controlling every vehicle on the highway.
They’re helping you navigate the traffic.
When something unexpected happens, your guides can immediately begin helping you see possibilities within the new circumstances.
“This door closed. Let’s look over here.”
“That relationship ended. Let’s help her heal and eventually notice someone healthier.”
“That plan fell apart. There’s another path available now.”
They can inspire you, nudge you, comfort you, warn you and help you recognize opportunities.
But they don’t have to wreck your plans in order to guide you.
You Don’t Have to Find the Lesson Immediately
There’s another habit spiritually minded people sometimes develop that I think we can let go of.
The need to immediately turn every painful experience into a spiritual lesson.
Sometimes something happens and it just sucks.
You’re allowed to be disappointed.
You’re allowed to be angry.
You’re allowed to grieve.
You don’t have to sit beside the smoking remains of Plan A saying, “I’m so grateful for this tremendous opportunity for soul growth.”
Maybe someday you’ll understand what you gained from the experience.
Maybe you’ll eventually realize it redirected you somewhere important.
Maybe you’ll look back five years from now and say, “Wow. If that hadn’t happened, I never would have…”
But you don’t have to know that while you’re standing in the rubble.
And sometimes there won’t be a profound revelation at all.
You’ll just think, “Well, that was awful.”
That’s okay too.
Stop Looking Over Your Shoulder
If you believe the Universe is constantly testing you, life can start to feel like you’re being watched and graded.
Did I respond correctly?
Did I stay positive enough?
Did I forgive fast enough?
Did I recognize the lesson?
Did I maintain my vibration?
Did I pass?
Spirit isn’t grading you.
You’re here to experience life, make choices, learn, love, create, screw things up occasionally, change your mind, try again and keep going.
Some experiences will have enormous spiritual significance.
Others will become meaningful because of what you choose to do with them.
And some will just be Tuesday.
So the next time three annoying things happen before breakfast and you find yourself staring suspiciously at the ceiling wondering what the Universe is up to, consider another possibility.
Maybe you’re not being tested.
Maybe you’re just having a crappy morning.
Have some breakfast.
Find your keys.
And carry on.
