Natalie Vartanian's Blog

Gifts Received in Walking the Path of Purpose

Earlier this year I began the journey of self discovery. That burning question we all have of "What do I want to be when I grow up?" In giving myself the permission and the space to inquire and soul search, the answer came, which to me was a gift in and of itself. I get to empower and inspire people!

The biggest surprises though have come from all of the gifts I have been receiving outside of myself in the form of support and encouragement. Just in the past five months, the gifts have been pouring in like a torrential downpour. Trust me, I am NOT complaining. Especially for someone that never asked for help. I had a strong belief that I need to be Self-Reliant, so coming from this place it was a breath of fresh air. It is surreal to notice, but I am NOW making this connection that it started as soon as I declared my purpose. The moment I declared it and began walking down the path of being of service to the world, the magic started to happen. In my specific case, my purpose, I feel, is to be of service and empower and inspire people to live their best lives, lives of Purpose, Passion, Process and Play (what I call the 4 P's). However, for you it may be different. What you are passionate about and connect to as your purpose may be making the most delicious puff pastries this side of the US - OR - having your own snow plowing business to make sure we are safe on the road as we head to work or to see our loved ones.

The beautiful part about all this is WHATEVER you decide to do that you are passionate about, you ARE giving. You give with your inspiration and energy. You give with your passion and your presence. In your "selfish" giving, you receive. The gifts start coming in to support you in living your best life which then ripples out to other people living their best life. In my case, the support came in the form of strangers giving me their time to share their lessons learned, friends referring me to their network, mentors wanting to take me under their wing, teachers encouraging me to own my potential, and the list goes on and on.

From these gifts has come the biggest gift of all, learning to LET others LOVE me. Someone offering me their support is their way of giving me their love. For me to have denied that or felt I had to do it all on my own, I have blocked the flow of receiving and allowing others to give. The tears I used to shed have morphed these days; what started as a release of grief and connection to loneliness has evolved to an expression of deep gratitude and being immensely moved by others generosity.

I know I yearn for that. My soul yearns for the embrace of human love and kindness ... so I get to drop the walls and allow it to be received. Isn't that what fulfillment is: the joy and serenity that comes from the gifts in our lives (both offered and received)? How preciously beautiful to do what you love, share that love with others and support them in what they love? It has been a big lesson, but in the receiving has been my biggest breakthrough. It truly has set me free.

posted by Natalie Vartanian @ 1:33 PM