Maybe everything is just perfect?

For the past two weeks I’ve been waking up at 4:59 a.m.  My fall is really full and my mind has been running wild about all my perceived problems: creating an ideal support team for my business, finishing my new web site, addressing my teenager’s phone addiction, finding the space to do more service work in my community and the list goes on.

Yesterday in the middle of a Nia dance class (a place I try and let everything go), I heard the voice of my Wise Self whisper, “Renee, relax, everything is perfect.”

I have always believed that there is a thread of divine order that runs through everything … that what we experience is not random or coincidental but here to help us become more aware, more awake and evolve. When we look at big messy, painful life stuff–death of a loved one, health crises, financial loss or divorce–the idea that everything is perfect sounds insane.

My parents died in their 50s and my brother took his life at age 20. I miss them every day. Yet, as deeply painful and tragic as my losses were, I would not be the catalyst I am today were it not for those life-altering events. Even if it feels impossible or crazy to justify how this is so, I know it in my bones to be true.

Author/presidential candidate Marianne Williamson says, “The purpose of our lives is to give birth to the best that is within us.” For 14 years I was a career coach; I worked with thousands of clients, many of whom experienced or were recovering from devastating loss and huge life changes. Yet, everything always worked out. And interestingly, the more they trusted and surrendered–the easier everything got and support seemed to show up at their door just when they needed it.

When I allow instead of fight what I’m experiencing—when I release and let go–I can see a strange perfection, even in the midst of chaos and extreme disorder. I can look at my messy house, my complex relationships, my less than perfect financial plan and observe the underlying truth: everything is perfect. Really. I can let go and trust. I am at exactly the right place at the right time. 

I’D LOVE TO SUPPORT YOU–THREE UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES:

• Schedule me to plan/facilitate a custom workshop or retreat for your company, team or organization on work-life balance, resiliency or self-renewal. I’ve been speaking professionally for 25+ years and my clients include Fortune 500 companies, national conferences, nonprofits and organizations. Learn more and email me at workshops at reneetrudeau dot com to discuss your next event.
• Renew, replenish and recharge with like-minded women at a fall self-renewal retreat. Women who attend my retreats always leave saying, “I had no idea how much I needed that!” View all upcoming fall retreats here. Photo above: Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Lenox, MA.
• We’re hiring! Know an Austin-based college student or SAH mom who might want to work with our team? We have a fall women’s empowerment communications internship open (learn more). If you know an English, Journalism, PR or Communications undergrad who might be a fit, send them our way! We also have a part-time virtual communications assistant position available-ideal for a parent seeking meaningful work they can do from home.

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by mindfulness teacher author/speaker and Career Strategists president Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women find balance through the art/science of self-care, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, US News & World Report, Spirituality & Health and more. She is the author of three books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 17-year-old son. More on her background here.