End of
the Trail
or the Beginning?
by Alan Cohen
 One of my favorite hiking trails on Maui leads to a magnificent
hidden waterfall far off the beaten path. The path to the waterfall begins as an
offshoot of a main trail in a county park. One day as I set out on the waterfall
trail I noticed that county officials had posted a sign, "End of trail."
As I stepped over the sign onto the fun trail, I chuckled to think that what was
advertised as the end of the trail was really the beginning of the trail.
If hikers simply heeded public signs, they were led to believe their hike was
over. If, however, they paid attention to their inner guide, they would discover
that the hike was just getting good.
Sometimes in life it appears that we are at the end of our
trail, when we are really at the beginning. If you take your direction from
social signs, you will just follow the herd and be programmed by other people
who think for you, and are guided primarily by fear.
But if you follow your joy-inspired inner voice of guidance, you
will be led to experiences that far surpass any the sign-makers post. Buddha
said, "To see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone."
On a cute TV sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina
must pass a test of true love to rescue her boyfriend whom she has accidentally
turned into a toad. Sabrina's initiation brings her to a swinging rope bridge
over a fiery chasm, where her beloved awaits on the other side. The bridge is
burning, and if Sabrina is going to get to her young man, she will have to make
a leap of faith, now or never.
On Sabrina's side of the bridge are two signs.
"True love" points over the bridge to her boyfriend, and "Safe
Path" points back from where she came. "Maybe you should just take
the safe path!" her boyfriend suggests. "No way!" Sabrina
answers, "that just leads to the suburbs."
Often our true path is not the apparently safe one — but if we
examine the "safe" path, it leads only to deadness and limitation. The
only real safety lies in being true to our own self. What does your heart tell
you is real for you? If you were to allow your authentic self to come forth,
what would you be doing differently?
The only quality of character that will
guide you reliably through the many changes happening in and around you, is realness.
Trust who and what you are, and the universe will support you in miraculous
ways.
My friend Donna Lynn had been seeking more fulfillment in her
work, and when her company offered her a position on the night shift at a higher
salary, she took it. While she had more leisure time during this shift, Donna
Lynn noticed that the night cleaning crew was throwing away toilet paper rolls
with toilet paper left on them. Donna Lynn felt this was a waste of a valuable
resource that someone could use, so she collected these rolls and took them to a
local homeless shelter.
She found her involvement with this charity so rewarding that
she became a volunteer coordinator, and then took a salaried position as
director of a city-wide volunteer agency.
Donna Lynn's work was so successful that she gained national
prominence and received an outstanding service award that brought her to
Washington D.C. where she was honored by President and Mrs. Clinton, and met
several past U.S. Presidents and their spouses — all as a result of a single
spontaneous thought about a roll of toilet paper!
At this very moment the universe is trying to manifest miracles
through your visions, intuitions, and longings. Imagine that your inklings are
God's whispers to your heart. The same God that gave you the idea, will give you
the means and support to see it through.
The world is being transformed through people like you, who love
themselves enough to trust their inner guidance, and relax enough to let the
universe take care of the means.
"I don't just want a job — I want to be inspired."
— Rene Zellweger in Jerry Maguire
Recommended book by
this author:
A Deep Breath of Life: Daily Inspiration for Heart-Centered Living
by
Alan Cohen.
 About The Author
Alan
Cohen is the author of numerous popular inspirational books, including the
award-winning A
Deep Breath of Life. To request a free catalog of Alan's books,
tapes, and seminars, call 1-800-462-3013 or visit Alan's web site at www.alancohen.com.
For info on upcoming events, contact 455A Kukuna Road, Haiku, HI 96708,
(800) 568-3079, email:
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I enjoyed Alan Cohen's article. I don't know...it just rang true for me today. 
