The Burden and The Gift

I believe that I am, in fact, becoming crafty.  Ceremonies, rituals and dream walking have become a common practice of mine in the last few months.  Somewhat out of desperation, thinking, what did I have to lose if I believed I actually had within me a power to change my reality?

And quite unexpectedly, magical things are happening.  Did you know that just by setting an intention to know or see something, you can actually bring it into your reality?  Just try it and see what happens.

For me it started with a Basil bush.  I recently learned that Basil is said to bring about good luck and prosperity.  Just allowing the sweet, summery scent of Basil to waft into your nicks and corners, awakens the spirit of abundance.  I read about it.  I thought, I love Basil, I’ll consider it.

That night I had the most interesting dream where I was in a workshop about life purpose.  The woman leading the workshop asked,

“What is your Burden and what is your Gift?”

I thought for a second and said, my Burden and my Gift are the same.  I wrote down on a piece of paper I had: Prosperity and Economic Freedom.  They are my Burden and my Gift I concluded, in my dream.

The next day I read this passage by Paulo Coelho,

“Few take up the Burden of their own victory; most give up their dreams when they become impossible.”

The dream (my dream of helping people to change the world from the inside out) is a burden that many shy away from because it’s hard.  I’ve wanted to walk away from mine many times because I can’t see how it will all work out.

I realize now that the reason why my Burden is also my Gift is because I have a choice to see my life struggles as either one.  My Gift would most certainly be to discover Prosperity and Economic Freedom.  If I believe that it is my Gift, there is no other aim for me to work towards.  And the path to get there, is my Burden to walk gracefully.

Each of us has both a Burden and a Gift that are one and the same.  Perhaps, the hardest part is discovering what it is.  Once we do, we get to choose how we will see the work that lies ahead for us to do.

I have a new found reason to believe that my Burden is indeed my greatest Gift.  Over the weekend, during my community garden fall clean-up, a gardener came up to me with a Basil bush in her hand and said to me,

“Do you need some Basil?”

It was overgrown, flowering and weedy.  Just perfect.  I took that Basil home and let it waft into my nicks and corners.  For 24 hours, my apartment smelled like the sweetness of summer.

I’m not sure what’s next, is Prosperity and Economic Freedom around the corner?  Or is there another lesson?  I’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I have plenty of sweet Basil pesto tucked away in my freezer for the long, dark winter.