{"id":318,"date":"2014-03-08T00:57:56","date_gmt":"2014-03-08T00:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/?p=318"},"modified":"2014-03-08T00:57:56","modified_gmt":"2014-03-08T00:57:56","slug":"a-million-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html","title":{"rendered":"A Million Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Perspective<\/a>There are millions of ways to live our lives.<\/strong> There are millions of paths we can take to get from here to there. There are millions of people we can interact with and millions of experiences we can have. There are millions upon millions of choices we can make.<\/span><\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the thing \u2013 none of these ways to live or paths to take or people to interact with or experiences to have or choices to make are right and none of them are wrong.<\/strong> Some choices will be made based on a decision made from our core \u2013 at the soul level. And some will be made brashly without even thinking. And what I\u2019m finding is that we can learn and grow from each type.<\/p>\n

I believe that we live in a loving world. I don\u2019t believe that we are being tested or that we are being judged. I see our time here on Earth as a way to experience all that we can experience and love all that we can love and to evolve and feel joy and embrace each moment. There are so many paths and so many choices that can support us with this \u2013 some in a roundabout way and some in a more straightforward way.\u00a0And I’m beginning to really see that each one is a gift.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have made so many perceived mistakes in the past that with time and perspective turned out to be beautiful blessings. I have said no when I thought saying no was a mistake only to find out that doing so saved me from heartache. I have said yes when I immediately thought I shouldn\u2019t have and actually learned a lot about myself in the process. I have made choices that didn\u2019t come from my highest good and got to grow and evolve as life unfolded around me. I have chosen the \u201cwrong\u201d friends who actually turned out to be exactly who I needed at that moment to evolve into who I am today. I have taken paths that seemed to lead me away from my truth but eventually led me closer to my truth than any other path may have.<\/p>\n

I think more important than trying to find the \u201cright\u201d path or choose correctly is to actually get on a path or make a choice.<\/strong> So often, we get overwhelmed by all of the possibilities \u2013 by all of the choices that we can make. So often, we let these feelings of overwhelm stop us from putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. We worry about making a mistake. We worry that we aren\u2019t doing it right. We worry about so, so much.<\/p>\n

And what I would love for all of us to remember is that it\u2019s okay. Really, it is. We\u2019re okay. Really, we are.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we breathe into our overwhelm and our fear and start making choices and start moving forward down the path, we\u2019ll immediately begin to feel empowered and free. If we begin to see how each choice or decision is a gift that we’re being given, we’ll begin to see how amazing this journey truly is.<\/strong> We\u2019ll begin to enjoy it rather than fear it. We\u2019ll begin to embrace it rather than avoid it.<\/p>\n

I believe that fully experiencing our lives is a beautiful gift to give ourselves.<\/strong> Rather than worrying about making the wrong choice or protecting ourselves from going down the wrong path, we can instead shift our focus to the present and shift it to enjoying life and shift it to embracing this journey with an open heart and open mind.<\/p>\n

Yes, there are a million ways we can choose to live.<\/strong> And that\u2019s absolutely amazing! We have complete freedom to find the ways that feel the best within our soul. We can test drive different experiences and see if they feel right. And if they don\u2019t, we can try something else.<\/p>\n

Each experience and each path is a gift. And we\u2019ve been given millions of them. Isn’t that wonderful?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hugs<\/p>\n

Jodi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"about<\/a><\/p>\n

Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and a soulful community builder.\u00a0She lives her life with love and faith in the driver\u2019s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul\u2019s whisper and create our best lives. She would love to connect with you!<\/p>\n

Website<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Soul Shakers Sale<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Free Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Free Meditation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are millions of ways to live our lives. There are millions of paths we can take to get from here to there. There are millions of people we can interact with and millions of experiences we can have. There are millions upon millions of choices we can make. And here\u2019s the thing \u2013 none…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26,74,73,2,3],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-choice","tag-experience","tag-gifts","tag-heart-of-the-soul","tag-jodi-chapman"],"yoast_head":"\nA Million Gifts - Heart of the Soul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Million Gifts - Heart of the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are millions of ways to live our lives. There are millions of paths we can take to get from here to there. There are millions of people we can interact with and millions of experiences we can have. There are millions upon millions of choices we can make. And here\u2019s the thing \u2013 none…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Heart of the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-08T00:57:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2014\/03\/perspective-copy-296x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jodi Chapman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Million Gifts - Heart of the Soul","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Million Gifts - Heart of the Soul","og_description":"There are millions of ways to live our lives. There are millions of paths we can take to get from here to there. There are millions of people we can interact with and millions of experiences we can have. There are millions upon millions of choices we can make. And here\u2019s the thing \u2013 none…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html","og_site_name":"Heart of the Soul","article_published_time":"2014-03-08T00:57:56+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2014\/03\/perspective-copy-296x300.jpg"}],"author":"Jodi Chapman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html","name":"A Million Gifts - Heart of the Soul","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2014\/03\/perspective-copy-296x300.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-08T00:57:56+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-08T00:57:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#\/schema\/person\/c648eb97ca40c7503f05db1376bc947f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2014\/03\/perspective-copy-296x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2014\/03\/perspective-copy-296x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/03\/a-million-gifts.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Million Gifts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/","name":"Heart of the Soul","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Jodi Chapman","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#\/schema\/person\/c648eb97ca40c7503f05db1376bc947f","name":"Jodi Chapman","description":"Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and an inspirational community builder. She wears her heart on her sleeve and tends to attract others into her life who do the same. It\u2019s her heart\u2019s desire to help others reconnect with their soul and plug back into their life. After experiencing a spiritual awakening in October 2010, she went from being a complete skeptic to a believer in miracles and the magic that is always occurring all around us. She now lives her life with love and faith in the driver\u2019s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul\u2019s whisper and create our best lives. Jodi Chapman is the author of the award-winning blog, Soul Speak, the creator of several inspirational ecourses, a soulful guide, and the co-author of the bestselling\u00a0Soulful Journals series, which she wrote with her husband, Dan Teck. She lives in southern Oregon with her beautiful best friend\/soulmate Dan. They share their lives with three wonderful cats: Biddle, Buncom, and Elsie. She would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter! And you can also join her Soul Speak community: www.jodichapman.com. Be sure to download her free ebook, Journaling from the Soul, here!","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jodichapman.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/author\/jchapman"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions\/320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}