One of my favourite mantras at the moment is ‘nothing is promised’.

At first glance it could appear to be a little negative, for example ‘expect nothing and you won’t be disappointed’. To me it is the perfect viewpoint from which to look at life. Let me explain…

We have been through a global pandemic, we have lost so much. Not only loved ones, but time, plans, experiences, money….the list goes on. To be very realistic about what it means to be living this human life – there is suffering and there is loss. In that respect, nothing was promised to us as we entered these lives. The deal was we get to be alive in these bodies, in this place for an unknown amount of time. That’s it. However so many of us live our lives as if we were promised the world on the way in and now the universe hasn’t delivered. We are upset, we felt entitled to a job we love, a beautiful home, a fancy car, a loving, life long partner, and because we didn’t get them exactly when and how we wanted to, we feel let down and would like to make a formal complaint.

I wish for you to have your heart’s desires fulfilled, but it is unlikely they will all be fulfilled, all at the same time in a way that lasts forever. Change is constant and some of our desires may not ever become our reality. This truth is not necessarily anyone’s ‘fault’ or a punishment from the universe, sometimes it just is. Therefore the mantra ‘nothing is promised’ allows us to lean into deep acceptance of how things are, without blame directed internally or externally.

An example of a desire is to want to be an olympic athlete, there are many people who are talented and work very hard at their sport who don’t realise the dream of being an olympian. If we use the mantra ‘nothing is promised’ it reminds us to accept the situation as it is, to feel all the feelings of grief, disappointment, sadness and loss, and to be able to let go of this dream without blame or shame because ‘nothing is promised’.

On the flip side, if you imagine standing on the top of a hill surveying your life looking down on all the wonderful things you hold most dear; beloved people, pets, work you love, great achievements, your relationship with yourself, gorgeous material things you own etc. Looking across at all the wonder, joy and love you have in your life you can feel intensely grateful because ‘nothing is promised’. Every moment of goodness is a special gift. And if you turn to look in the other direction from your high up viewpoint you can see all your dreams and desires that have not yet come into reality. From the place of ‘nothing is promised’ you can put your whole heart into creating your dreams and manifesting your desires, knowing that they may or may not become your reality. And either way you will be OK, because ‘nothing is promised’.

Perhaps the age old saying is true, it’s all in the journey. Perhaps it’s what we learn and experience as we move towards our dreams that holds the real richness of life. Can we get really good at giving our dreams everything we’ve got, then stepping back in deep acceptance that ‘nothing is promised’?