"And remember: Progress. Not Perfection." A saying from Alcoholics Anonymous
The thing is, if we were not exactly where we were supposed to be right now, why would we be here?
Whenever I look at my life and see something, both desirable or undesirable, I always ask myself, "How is this answered prayer?" What have I been asking for that is bringing me these circumstances? How are these circumstances growing me into the person I asked to become?
In other words, what am I gaining right here where I am standing, that is in alignment with my bigger picture, my greater unfolding, my perfect timing?
If we look at our lives in this vein, we can see that in every moment of our lives, we are 
exactly where we are supposed to be. That right where we stand is the perfection of our unfolding - and also, because we are divine beings, the perfection of our spiritual awakening, as well.
Anything we resist, persists, so the key to moving through change, or less than wanted circumstance is to surrender to it and allow it to give us the jewels it has to offer. This simple act of asking ourselves the question, "how is this answered prayer?" helps us to embrace the moment and allow it to inform us.
By staying in this "Inquiry", instead of in a declaration of something gone wrong, we remain participants in our own advancement. Not victims of circumstances, not persons "down on our luck" but instead, powerful creators who have called forth experiences and opportunities to take our lives to the next level.
Have you asked to have more self-worth? Have you asked for the courage to know your own voice? To follow your own calling? To claim more of your own power and know your own value? To take your relationships to the next level? Have you, in your playing small in your life, asked to play a bigger game?
Sometimes we may not realize consciously what we are asking for, but just in the living of the contrast in our lives, we are sending requests for new preferences.
But we only realize our transformation by checking in and seeing how far we've come. By noticing that the moments we are living today were pre-paved by the requests we were making yesterday. In all of it, we are creating.
So, would it be so far off, then, to say that we are exactly where we are supposed to be? That right where we stand is the perfect platform for our new becoming?
Last week, I helped an African medicine woman pack up her house to take a 3 month long sabbatical to Africa. She was the inspiration behind the book "29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving can Change your Life" by Cami Walker.
I asked her what ritual I should perform for my birthday. She told me to go to the ocean and release to the water the "beads" of my unfinished business. She told me it didn't have to be much, just a symbolic word or event written on paper. "Turn them into little balls", she said "and release them to the waters". "Make sure you do it before the new year", she told me.
I know the purpose of this exercise. It is one of surrender. One of co-creation. One of recognizing that I am in relationship with something larger than myself and that in each moment, I can choose to recognize this or not.
There is grace in surrender. There is a peace that comes from knowing that we cannot get it wrong, that despite appearances, there is an unfolding that surpasses our own understanding and that right where we are is right where we should be. In our triumph, in our despair, in our excitement, in our challenge. In our expansion.
All of it will come to pass. We simply move forward with equanimity.
In partnership. In surrender. In peace.
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