I told the fellow, "You have been misinvesting your energy about the incident. While you have been embroiled in upset that your friend deserted you, you are overlooking the fact that God did not desert you."

"How is that?" he asked.

"God showed you the rock that gave you your way back home."

Like the rock climber, you may confuse an avenue for your good with the source of our good. You may think that a certain person will be your relationship partner, a particular job will provide your livelihood, or a certain doctor will be your healer. Yet each of these people is but one channel among many through which your good may arrive. Your true source is Spirit, or God, and that source is capable of working through any of infinite number of conduits.

Years ago I received an invitation to speak at a prestigious conference sponsored by an organization that put on large events around the country. I was excited to participate, since this meant high profile exposure, tremendous book sales, and a likely speaking slot at their other conferences. A few days later I received another letter apologizing that they could not have me after all; they had hired me to replace someone else, and the company could not get out of their contract with her. The upshot was that she was in and I was out.

I grew angry and depressed. Here a golden opportunity had slipped through my fingers. When I told a client the story, she asked me, "Is there a gift in this for you?"

That bugged me even more. (There is nothing more annoying than when one of your students uses the truth you taught them against you.) Yet irked as I felt, she was right. There had to be a gift there somewhere.

When I thought about it, I realized that this organization was not the source of my good. God, Spirit, the universe, or whatever you want to call the Intelligence behind the big picture, was the source of my good. This company was but one channel. I was capable of creating a prosperous, joyful livelihood without this company's events. When I realized that, I was free. I felt far more empowered than if I had presented at the event. The conference offered me a sense of financial freedom; recognizing that I did not need this group to offer me spiritual freedom.

Subsequently my career developed in many wonderful ways and I lost nothing from not participating in those programs. Eventually I did some other very rewarding projects with that company. So everything ultimately worked out perfectly, and any angst and stress I generated as a result of that cancellation was useless and meaningless.

Steve Jobs, cofounder and initial CEO of Apple Computers, was fired by the Apple board of directors when Jobs had an ideological conflict with another fellow, and the board sided with the other guy. Then, as Jobs recounts, Microsoft copied Apple's motif into Windows and went on to dominate the computer software industry. Although Jobs was tempted to run away, he hung in there and founded Pixar Animation, which developed the film Toy Story, and went on to revolutionize the computer-generated graphics industry for Hollywood. Later Jobs was reinstated as Apple's CEO. "At the time, I thought that getting fired from Apple was the worst thing that ever happened to me," Jobs notes. "Now I realize it was the best."

A creative spirit has access to a huge bank of resources, capable of being delivered through many more avenues than the human mind can understand. Even in their scariest moments, God did not desert the rock climber, Steve Jobs, or anyone who has ever gone through a dark night of the soul. To the contrary, God stood side by side with them, quietly illuminating a new and better way. If you feel deserted, alone, or hopeless, you are not. There is a rock or an apple close by.



© Alan Cohen, 2005