What do I want?

What if you could have everything you ever wanted? Would that make you happy? Would that be enough to make you feel fulfilled and living your purpose with passion? Let’s ask the little girl who had everything, shall we?

Once upon a time, in a faraway land there lived a little sprout of a girl. Some called her contrary, others said “that little girls sure got moxie” and yet others thought her too big for her little britches, one that needed to be knocked down a notch or two. Things were never easy for this little sprout of a girl, and she seemed to attract controversy no matter where she went, what she did, or even how she did it!

Why, I see everything…

The wise elders, well, they simply saw her as the one that marched to the beat of her own drum, that did things her own way. But on one thing, they all agreed. She had the most beautiful big green eyes, doe like, the kind that always saw straight through things, right to the very heart of a matter. Direct like, and on target: the kind that saw right through you and sized you up. The kind that made you uncomfortable to hold the gaze for very long, as if they knew everything about you; things you didn’t even yet comprehend about yourself. When asked what she saw, the little girl always responded in the same way: “What do I see?  Why I see everything!”

You can be anything you set your mind to…

She went about matters in her own way, and flitted from here to there, never staying too long in one place. She was hugely talented in so many ways; she could draw, sing, dance, write, tell stories, imagine the most magnificent people, places and things into being! It seemed there was nothing this girl couldn’t do, and to all who knew her that everything she tried, she mastered effortlessly. She did well in almost every subject in school and was well liked and respected by teachers and classmates alike. Everyone said: “This little girl can grow up to be anything she likes, to have whatever she wants, whatever her heart desires!  She has so many natural gifts and talents.  She is so lucky, this little girl!”

However, you cannot be everything…

And then one day, she was asked exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up? A doctor, a lawyer, a musician, a painter or perhaps an engineer? Did she want to be an astronaut and fly to the moon, lay down mason bricks, or create beautiful storybooks? A kindly teacher took her aside one day, and told her:  “you must decide, my child – what you want.  What do you want to be?”  The little girl was almost speechless: “Why what do you mean I must decide? I want to do it all, why everything!  Why can’t I be everything that I want to be? The sky is the limit, you’ve said before I can be anything at all that I set my mind to, absolutely anything at all!  Why, oh why must I decide?”  The wise teacher then gently explained: “Yes, you can be anything at all my child, anything you set your mind to – indeed, however you cannot be everything.”

The little girl with the big green eyes, ran far, far away as fast as she could. She cried and cried, the day she discovered that she couldn’t in fact be everything as she had believed her whole life until now. She could be anything, but not everything! This thought had never occurred to her before and felt so very limiting. This was so unfair! How would she ever decide upon the single thing she wished to be when she grew up? How would she know? What if she was wrong in what she selected, only to find out once it was too late to change? Oh misery! Her mind darted too and fro, so anxious and so worried she fell asleep exhausted and defeated.

And then, a very wise woman appeared…

And just as she was drifting into a deep sleep, a very wise woman appeared to her in a dream. Surrounded by light, with golden hair and sparkly eyes the wise woman asked: “What’s wrong dear one? The little girl amazed by the vision, in awe of the light surrounding the wise woman stuttered: “They, why they say I must choose. That I can be anything but cannot be everything.  Oh, what shall I do…. How shall I choose, whatever shall I be?”  The wise woman laughed and said: “Oh, but it is true! If you should try to be everything, you will grasp and grab and exhaust yourself attempting to put your energy everywhere at once, and you will find dear one in trying to have everything, that you will instead have nothing to show for your efforts.”

So here is what we shall do…

“You must ask yourself, way deep down inside, what is it that makes your heart sing, what is it that makes you happy, makes you smile in spite of yourself and just sets your soul on fire? Why, everything!” the little girl quickly responded. “Everything, really it does!!!!” Here, the wise woman handed her a pen and a beautiful hand tooled leather journal. “These, these are magic tools” the wise woman said, “When you hold these and close your eyes, and believe that you will receive the answer – why then the pen magically writes only one thing in your journal….. only one, you see the magic really comes from you!  So now, close your eyes….. and ask yourself who am I?  If an answer doesn’t come right away, just keep asking. And then what do I want?”

And so it was then …

And so it was, then, that the little girl learned the spirit of discernment. She closed her eyes that day and went deep inside to the very center of the stillness, the depths of her soul. And it was here that she so earnestly asked, so very fervently: “Please tell me, who I am, what I want, oh please?” At first her pleas were met with only silence. And then a very still very quiet voice, seemingly from nowhere whispered to her: “Go deeper still, the answers you seek are seeking you.” And it was through this process of self-inquiry, that the little girl who wanted everything, came to understand that she could indeed be anything. Her voice was her tool, and her choice was her power. It was through this process of self-inquiry that she learned the art of discernment, of listening carefully to the murmurs of her heart, and focusing the power of her intention. It was this combination, she knew now, that would be her saving grace. She now knew what she must do.

She awoke to a renewed sense of purpose…

She awoke to a new sense of purpose and passion that next morning. She had really known all along what she must do! The wise woman was gone, yet her magic pen and journal remained. She hurried to write down her new message of hope, and turning to the first page discovered, like magic, the first entry had already been made. Her heart skipped a beat, as she recognized the words she had known all along:

What if you were to be handed a magic pen and beautiful leather bound journal.

Imagine opening it…

What Does It Say?