Life's Surprises — Sarah Ceballos

This morning and lately, I’ve been thinking a lot more about growing older. You might ask me why, and the truth is, I’m excited about it! Growing older means that I GET TO continue on this journey God laid out in front of me. I was doing a yoga-nidra workshop last night because my overly analytical mind as a Virgo wouldn’t rest. It turns out that naturally, I cause a lot of my own anxiety. However, if you’re like me and you’ve had to grow up at a young age or take care of yourself in a way or always found yourself alone then you know how hard it can be to overcome when it seems like the only person you can truly depend on is yourself. I realize now that it’s a beautiful thing to be able to depend on you. It means that I no longer attach myself to possessions, people, or anything really. Yes, I still have my faith, my reliance comes from God/the universe. AND, I’m healing, I’m proud of that! (Also a huge deal to celebrate my own success, I’m not one for clout or to sound braggadocious). Meditation & the art of practicing mindfulness & of course therapy has done wonders for me. It’s so easy in today’s world to shy away from healing because it means we have to confront our own obstacles or roadblocks. Yet the real danger exists if we don’t confront our demons and stay the same. We then become stagnant or indifferent which is the enemy of growth and progression.

I have also been contemplating all of the things that remain unknown. While 2021 has been better in a way, we are still very much knee-deep in this pandemic and until the entire world is vaccinated or built up some sort of immunity to this virus then a sense of “normalcy” may still be a long way away. I have, however, managed to stay curious and I count all of the moments where I was surprised or when God/the divine/the universe surprised me.

As a COVID survivor, I will always consider myself blessed that I beat it. Friends, when I tell you that I was so scared that I may have to write my will because I thought I was going to die. I’m not exaggerating or trying to make it worse than it was but that is/was my truth at that moment. Instead, I mustered up whatever little teeny tiny faith I had at that time because I couldn’t really think and I experienced a lot of brain fog while having the virus. There where instances where I couldn’t stand the texture of food because I couldn’t smell or taste anything, I instead told God that I needed to live. I mean the bible does say come boldly to the throne right? Lol. I’ll never forget the day when I scheduled my first appointment, it was a Friday when I saw there were appointments available for the vaccine how overwhelmed with joy I felt. It seemed too good to be true, especially after waiting for what seemed like forever to get it. I cried after my first dose. While I no longer let fear be the dictator in my life like it once was, and I often act or do things in spite of fear, when I walked out of my appointment, it honestly felt like I had been given yet another shot at life literally and figuratively speaking.

What am I getting at? It’s a moment in my life where I was in total shock and surprise. I know it’s a small thing but for me, it was a huge deal. We will never know why or understand why things happen in our lives, but what we can be sure of is that there will always be brighter days ahead. I’m not shying away from all the darkness or chaos that surrounds us but rather all of this gives birth to the light. Was last year ideal? Absolutely not, but I made the best of it. I have found that when we’re surprised or when life is so beyond bizarre (as it is now) or out of our control that is when the best things happen. They happen when we’re not looking. So much healing took place for me last year that as I type this I’m brought to tears.

Of course, we can dwell on what’s not happening and on our timetable, OR we can just embrace life and see what surprises lay ahead. We can talk ourselves out of things or we can talk ourselves into things or the one thing that will change our lives. We ought to start talking about what is going right in our lives vs. what’s going wrong. And honestly, in the grand scheme of things will all of what we’re stressed about matter in the end? NOPE. We have this one life and it is so precious, I don’t know about you, but I am forever committed to making the BEST of it. Yes, the “best” varies day by day but I just never want to miss a moment where I take it for granted.

Again I’m also not trying to judge or criticize by any means at all. That’s not my style, my set of experiences are different from your set of experiences but rather how can we encourage each other along the way? How can we choose to remain happy in spite of things? Our lives will always follow the direction of our thoughts, and if I’m being honest yes my thought life has been off BUT today is a NEW day and we can always get back on track! I don’t know who this is for but even if you’re off course, maybe you’re supposed to be. Maybe there is something to learn there, either way, things always have a way of working themselves out just as they should.

Trust me, I still battle with trying to "figure it or things out”. I’m laughing to myself as I just realized why God/the divine/the universe is intentional in putting me in uncomfortable situations. Hence my life as an actor, and I couldn’t be more grateful because of that. I hope you too are grateful for where you’re at in life. It’s YOUR life, and no one can tell you how to live it. Celebrate all the greatness that you are and celebrate how far you’ve come! Embrace this life, it’s too short to be anything but happy, and knowing the way God/the divine/universe works, this supernatural entity loves to show off, which means there are without a doubt wonderful surprises that lay ahead, let life surprise you!

Sending so much love and light as always! xo

-Dr. S.