Conspiracy

I've never really cared much for horoscopes, except to read them and laugh about how every single one of them is true for me... or else how every single one of them is true for the poor sap down the road, but not nearly right for me.  I never knew why until this week.

I think I've just always been repelled by the idea that anyone can read MY stars but ME.  How can anyone else know what the stars are conspiring to teach me?  And right now, Baby, those stars are aligned and shouting to me with all the power they can send my way.  The message is clear:

When I decide what my dream is -- when I listen to my heart to unravel my vision --  the Universe and all the people in it, will conspire to make my dreams come true.

The message, though, isn't just for me.  It's for everyone who needs to hear it.

So, how do I know the stars are aligned to teach me that?

Any one of these things I list here would be enough, but they are all true simultaneously:

• After a year of telling everyone who would listen that my dream job would be teaching at the neighborhood high school, three classes of ninth grade... that is the job I got.  Not only did I get the job, but it turns out that the reality is even better than my limited imagination allowed my dream to show.  The leadership at the school is visionary and supportive. The classroom I was offered is the only one with a lap top on every single student desk.  AND... best of all... I'm convinced that MY students are the best ones.
• Every year of teaching so far, I have started the year by introducing myself using the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken."  This year was no different... except for one thing... two weeks before school started my Mom sent me a copy of a poem called "The Journey."  While the Frost poem talks about making choices based on information IN FRONT of you, "The Journey" talks about making choices based on the voices INSIDE you.  This year, the students got both poems.
• When I started at the high school, I was under the impression that the students had a choice of what novel they chose to read for summer reading.  I designed an elaborate assignment based on that presumption.  AND THEN... I learned that they all had to read The Alchemist.  My first thought... the one that lingered for days was, "Oh CRAP!  Just what I need... one more thing to read!"  And now... I've read it... (hear the worshipful silence of a person in awe of the universe here)... (breathe quietly again...)  The entire book is about learning the Language of the World.  It is about honoring the fact that the universe (read God here, if you like) wants our dreams to come true because the fruition of our dreams are a gift for the world.  

There was a time in my life where it seemed like one bad thing after another was happening... we lost two babies, I changed jobs, I was in a terrible accident.  The lesson I learned then was that I am not in control of everything.  My grandmother, Nana, after the third or so event said, "Well, that's a lesson we all have to learn... but you didn't really need a Master's degree in it, did you?"

No.  But I took the repeated lessons with as much resilience and strength as I could.

So, now, I'm going to stand with my arms wide open and take all these lessons in being a part of One universe that conspires for my dreams.