A Case of the What-Ifs

As I grow closer and closer to making my dreams a reality, I cannot help but think of the courage it takes to embrace our true identities, and achieve that which we are meant to achieve.

We often find ourselves at a moment of recognition, when it becomes clear to us what we must do. We can see the path unfolding before us, laying out the journey that we must take. It is never easy to embrace this path, and we often become so taken with fear that we cannot move forward.

We catch a nasty case of the "What-if's?"
"What if I fail?"
"What if nobody cares?"
"What if it's the wrong decision?"

But, I challenge you this, my friends.

What if we didn't think like that? What if we embraced, I mean, truly embraced every opportunity? What if we embraced our own hearts, and respected the voice in our head that guides us? 

At the crossroad where we are presented with our path...it is natural to feel doubt. But we must leave it at the crossroad, and not carry it with us through our journey, for doubt is a heavy burden. We must abandon doubt the minute we make the decision to move forward. But we cannot forget that we felt it. 

Now, I am no Biblical expert, nor will I pretend to be. However, my mind wanders to the story of Moses. I won't lie...it's mainly because I just caught a bit of the animated film, The Prince of Egypt, over lunch. After I reminisced of my 11th(?) birthday party at the movies, I got to thinking about the actual story. Here was a man who grew up believing he was one thing, until one fateful day when he discovered he was another.

Cue the identity crisis. 

Moses accepts his true identity and leaves Egypt. Later, he is faced with a great task: to free the Hebrews from Egypt. He can ignore it, or he can embrace it. Certainly, there were many "What-ifs" in that case. But G-d presented him a task, and he embraced his G-d given purpose--thereby fulfilling his destiny.

He trusted the unknown.

What if we did the same? 

Before I made the decision to go to Israel, I struggled a great deal with whether or not I should take this enormous step. The What-ifs had a strong hold of me, and I thought up every possible scenario of how things could go terribly wrong. It wasn't until I realized that I was just making excuses for myself...because What If...none of these scenarios happened? What if I went...and it was amazing? What if I changed my life? I remember the excitement that rushed through me as I realized that YES, I could actually do this. 

I am working harder than I've ever worked in my life to make this happen, and I occasionally find the shadow of doubt creeping up behind me in an attempt to bring me down. Sometimes, it succeeds. It will grab a hold of my ankle and weigh me down, dragging me beneath the waters into the depths of uncertainty. It is in those moments that I must remember how to trust. It is in those moments, that I must remember that even when it seems hopeless, when it feels like nothing is happening with my work--that the seeds have been planted, and no garden grows overnight. 

It may take some time for all the pieces to fall into place, but work hard and trust what you are doing...the Universe will take care of you. 

An Olive Branch