In Lieu Of

When our histories have finally been written, many, if not most, of the important things to have happened will not have been purposed or planned for — but will have happened in lieu of those things.

That College or University that you went to may have been in lieu of the one you initially thought you wanted to attend but couldn’t get into.

The woman you married may have been the best friend, or roommate, of the girl you initially tried to date. But because of time or circumstance you ended up taking her out instead.

Like Reggie Jackson being traded from the Orioles to the Yankees, some of our best accomplishments are the result of finding ourselves in one situation in lieu of another.  My family physician, when I was a kid, only went to medical school because he was refused entrance into the university engineering program which had been his first choice.

How many of these alternate, and in lieu of, situations have impacted your life and maybe shaped the important events that went on to make all the difference?

Many times, life is calling out to us from places that we refuse to hear.  The universe has a plan, and the secret is to get in lockstep with that plan and value the options we are presented and the new choices it gives us.

I’m sure the doctors, scientists, farmers, and businessmen (all patriots), that became our Founding Fathers never intended to lead a new and emerging country to freedom and independence.

They were being called to something bigger than their original and proprietary decisions had mapped out, and history will forever record the importance of their answering that call.

The best parts of all of us are often those undiscovered. They are sometimes most evident to others while being blind to ourselves.  As we recognize without help or assistance the talents of our children, we are often in the dark when it comes to seeing those same things in our own nature.

Every parent starts T-Ball or Pop Warner Football wanting their kid to be either a pitcher or quarterback. If that were allowed to happen, where would the great third baseman and linebackers come from?  We very often need the help of others to determine the right and correct roads for us to walk down.

Kris Kristofferson and Louis Armstrong did not have the greatest singing voices in the music industry.  They did however, go on to write —and sing — some of the greatest songs in popular music during the last 100 years.  We often need to go against the grain and swim up-stream to achieve our greatest levels of success.  The rain that falls on the highest peak in the Rocky Mountain range does eventually find its way to the ocean.  The route it takes is determined by something beyond its ability to control. 

The next time someone says to you: “You have a great voice; you ought to sing professionally,” or, “I think that’s a great idea; you should send it to a magazine,” maybe you should listen.  More than that one person is reaching out to you … 

                             The Universe Is Speaking!