Becoming the woman that you are meant to be can take many paths. Digging deep and discovering what makes you happy is often an important step, and learning how to follow your bliss can create new opportunities and take you on journeys you never expected. Let me share a story with you…
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to audition for a new band at our church. I love singing and have been in church choirs all my life, so this sounded like an incredible opportunity. The day before the audition, I realized I needed to learn a new song. CRAP! I listened to it on YouTube and then found sheet music to pluck away on my keyboard. I was nervous, but not worried or anxious.
On the day of the audition, I walked in and sang the melody. They then asked me to sing harmony, and I explained to them that I didn’t hear any harmony in the video that I listened to, and I didn’t practice any. They asked me to just find the harmony and sing it.
I have never done that before. While I sang in choirs for years, the sheet music was always available to learn from. I had not learned how to harmonize by ear. Unfortunately, they were looking for someone who could just listen to a song and pick up the harmony, and I didn’t have the skills.
When I walked out of the building, I couldn’t help but feel crushed! I thought to myself, if I was really that good of a singer, I should be able to just find the harmony. Tears rolled down my face as I drove home. It was devastating not to make it, and I was embarrassed that I had wasted their time and that I didn’t have the skills that were required. It hurt.
As the saying goes, everything happens for a reason, and sometimes events that feel like missteps are actually blessings designed to move us on our path. I felt like I totally failed, but at the same time, I knew I had this burning desire to sing, and auditioning had woken up that passion inside me.
So why did this happen? What am I supposed to learn from this experience?
I learned that you need to follow your bliss. Singing makes me happy, and I had a dream to bring music into my business. This felt like it was God’s way of opening a new door for me. He knows I love to sing and being able to use music to serve others in the world feels like an enormous gift. This experience showed me how important music was to me and that if I wanted to follow my bliss, I needed to bring more music into my life.
In the past year I have written about 10 songs and I sing them in my programs or at my speaking engagements. “Follow your bliss and the universe will open up doors where there were only walls”. WOW! When I focus my time on activities that bring me pleasure, God opens up new doors for my life.
If you are struggling with something in your life or have some goals you want to reach, stop for a moment and find something you absolutely get pleasure from and spend time doing it. You may find that experiencing the bliss from this one activity could change your circumstances and open up new doors for you.