The Dragon Fly Lesson

A couple years ago I read a marvelous book by Price Pritchett called You2. At the beginning of the book Pritchett tells a story about how he observed a fly making futile attempts to force its way through a closed window instead of turning around and flying across the room to an open door.
At the time I read the book I thought this was a cute story with a good meaning about how trying harder isn't always the solution to achieving more. About a month ago Pritchett's story finally hit home with me. I noticed a dragonfly on the upper portion of our screened in deck. It was trying to find a way out to freedom by banging into the screen over and over and over again. About a foot below the dragon fly was a wide open door; the door to freedom.
The following day I noticed the dragonfly was still there. It was still trying unsuccessfully to fly through the screen. Its energy seemed to be almost spent. Still, just a foot below the dragonfly was the open door to freedom.
This dragonfly made me think about how many times I stubbornly attempted to force my "how" to my goals; my dreams. All the times I have tried to force the way, I have not been successful. The times I have been flexible and allowed the Universe; that inner voice to guide me, I have succeeded.
My husband, Randy, and I had first-hand experience of being flexible and allowing the Universe to guide our day when we went paragliding in Peru this past May. We were picked up from our hotel in Cusco at 9:00 am and taken to Sacred Mountain, about 45 minutes outside of town. We were told the evening before by our lead pilot, Leo, that we would "fly" around 10-10:30 am and be back in Cusco early afte
oon.

When we got to the top of Sacred Mountain the wind was very gusty. The conditions were certainly not suitable for paragliding. Leo asked us if we would mind waiting for a while. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. We had the Andes Mountains on one side of us and the Sacred Valley below. Of course we were OK with waiting a little while!
Morning soon turned into afte
oon and still the wind would not cooperate. Leo was getting conce
ed that Randy and I might become impatient and gave us an option. Leo said we could go ahead and launch now and expect maybe a 5-10 minute glide, or we could continue to wait. Our guide, Lorenza, explained to us that most tourists they take out insist on staying on schedule as they typically have other things planned.
It was at this moment that I heard and listened to my inner voice telling me to wait. We told Leo and Lorenza that we had nothing pressing and would be happy to continue to wait. This is where we were truly rewarded.
Leo performed an ancient Inca blessing to the wind with coca leaves. We then went back down the mountain, across the valley below to the circular ruins of Moray. These ruins were spectacular and we would not have been able to see them had we not decided to wait. After the ruins, Leo took us to a small village where we got to see some of the Inca and Spanish carvings on the doorways of houses.

When we finally went back to the top of Sacred Mountain and the wind was perfect. We flew with the eagles just before sunset for almost an hour!
It was a magical day and it unfolded for us because we were willing to be guided by the Universe and allowed the perfect day to unfold.
The next time you find yourself bumping up against what seems to be a brick wall, ask yourself if you are forcing the "how". Chances are, you are. At that moment stop, step back, take a deep breath and listen for guidance from the Universe. It will guide you that foot in another direction and get you back on track to your goals and dreams.
And you know what? What unfolds for you will be bigger and grander than you ever imagined possible!