Trust In Life – The Road Less Traveled with Rev. Roderick Norton
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DESCRIPTION
Life is a process. It is a series of experiences and steps that must be taken in order to achieve a particular end. We must have an understanding and know our relationship with the Source of life, in helping us to navigate life. Are you willing to trust the process called life, so more of life can be opened up to you?
SUMMARY
In this transcript, Rev. Roderick discusses the importance of trusting the process and not putting a time limit on it. He mentions the presence of unconscious filters that affect how we view people and situations. He emphasizes the need to adjust these filters and trust in the process of life. Rev. Roderick expresses gratitude for life, joy, peace, and the presence of God within.
TRANSCRIPTION
This transcription was auto-generated, please excuse typos, errors and omissions.
Rev. Roderick Norton (00:00):
We are moving on. How appropriate. How appropriate. Good morning, Cityside. Good morning. It is so good to be here this morning. It really is. I mean there’s just so much wonderful energy in this place and it’s a morning of celebration. I mean with the anticipation of the move and with the new practitioners. I mean it’s just a morning of celebration and it’s just a feel good opportunity. Do you not feel good? Do you not feel good? Yeah, it’s just a moment. It’s a really feel good opportunity moment here and I just thank God that I can share in your celebration. I really do. I thank God that I’m able to share in your celebration because I am happy for you. I am happy for what the universe, for what God for the great creator is doing in and through you. Wonderful, wonderful, magnificent things. Thank you Reverend Amy. Thank you Reverend Linda. Thank you to the whole leadership team. Thank you to everyone that does everything that needs to be done for this spiritual community is never a one person job and God alone can’t do it. That’s why we’re here so that God can use us to do that which needs to be done so that which needs to be manifested can come forth and you are manifesting some great things to God be the glory.
(01:41):
I want to talk to you this morning about trust as you guys have been talking for the past month about trust and working with Iyanla Vanzant’s book Trust this morning. I want to talk about trust in life. The road less traveled. Trust in life is the fourth of the essential trust that a young writes about. So I’ve added the road less traveled onto trust in life because there’s a road that we all must go down, but it becomes a choice and everyone is not willing to go down that road called trusting in life because for many folks, trusting in life is a hard thing to do.
(02:34):
We want to have control over everything. We want to have control over every aspect of life. We want to determine how everything turns out or how we think things should turn out. Have you ever been one to want to control the end result? Yeah, you want to be the person that determined how this thing is going to turn out and you don’t necessarily want to give up control because if you know give up control, somebody else might not be able to do it the way you want it done. So I hear some laugh or so it sound like some of you know what I’m talking about here. Yeah, so I think we all have somewhat experienced that in life and when we talk about this divine discomfort, we need discomfort in our lives.
(03:42):
Many of us have been too comfortable with the way things are even when we know that the way things are not the way things ought to be. When we begin to become discomfort though with the comfort, you begin to realize there’s a better way. You begin to know there’s a higher purpose for me that this discomfort I am feeling in my comfort zone. I am feeling this discomfort in my comfort zone for a reason because I’ve been comfortable for too long. Life is more than that which I’m experiencing right now. There must be more to it and there’s this pull that is happening that’s telling me that it is time for me to leave my comfort zone even though I might be discomfort in leaving my comfort zone, but I would never be totally comfortable though in my comfort zone as long as I feel this discomfort.
(04:49):
Have you ever heard someone say, or you might even say it to yourself, life isn’t fair and that that attitude or belief might be because they feel as though they have gotten the short end of the stick or they might feel that they work so hard and they have nothing to show for and then they look at others and in their opinion others are not working as hard as they are working yet they are experiencing more or they might end up or their attitude might be because they end up relationships that might not work for them and they see others who are in loving relationships, peaceful relationships, relationships that are working, that are working for them and however it is, it needs to work for them.
(05:42):
So they say life isn’t fair. They have this distrust, this distrust of life when the truth of the matter is life is a process and it is a process for everyone. We all must experience life. We all must go through life. The process called life, it is the same for everyone. How we experience it differs, but the process itself called life, it’s the same for everyone. Everyone has to go through life. There are just some things that we have to go through and we might not understand everything that happens in the process of life, but we have to get to the point where we begin to just simply trust the process. And I know you guys have been talking about trusting the process. You have to get to the point where you begin to just simply trust the process. I don’t know where this is going to lead me.
(06:46):
I don’t necessarily know where life is going to lead me, but I do know this. I cannot necessarily stay where I am right now because there’s discomfort in where I am right now. So I don’t necessarily know where life is going to lead me, but I do know that I must begin to follow this process. I must begin to trust this process that I have to go through in life. I must begin to position myself so that I can reap the universal bounty that I know God wants to bless me with. But the only way that I can reap this universal bounty is if I begin to place trust in life because when I begin to place trust in life, I begin to place trust in God. I begin to place trust in myself. Young Avanza says learning to trust life is a process. This process involves knowing and being okay with not knowing. Being okay with not knowing.
(07:46):
Have you ever been in a position where you just simply needed to know? Most of us want to know. We just want to know. And a lot of times we stop ourselves from moving forward in life. We stop ourselves from doing some of the things we know we need to do in life. We stop ourselves from enjoying life because we don’t know some things you just need to trust. It’s okay to trust not knowing you don’t, because the thing is you don’t need to know everything because if you knew everything from the very beginning, you might not do it because you might begin to say, well, I’m not sure if I really want to put the energy, put the time or put whatever necessary into moving forward, even though even though the end result might look good sometimes you just have to trust life, trust what’s going on, trust the process.
(08:52):
Sometimes you have to say it’s okay for not to know because many times we just never get started because of our need to know, get to the point where you are comfortable in not knowing where you are comfortable in not knowing. I like what E young Von Z also says in her book about this. She says, she says it is important to get yourself in the flow of life and allow life to take you where you need to go and have the experiences you need to have. She says, when you are trusting, you are banking on the unknown. When you are trusting you are banking on the unknown. I don’t know what’s ahead of me. I don’t know where this is going to take me, but as I begin the process of trusting as I trust the process, I’m banking on the unknown. I’m banking that the movement I’m about to make into the unknown will reap me, benefits will reap me more peace. It will reap me more joy. It will reap me more love. It will reap me more, better relationships. It will reap me more financial independence. It will reap me. That with the universe desires for me to experience, but I must have a trust in the unknown because if I can bank in the unknown, the dividends can be great for me.
(10:25):
I says the unknown is just a temporary condition. You won’t always be in the unknown. It is just a temporary condition and it unfolds in just the right time and always in just the right way. So you will not always be in that place of the unknown at some point. And in some time it will reveal itself to you. It will unfold in just the right time and what’s the right time? When the consciousness is ready. When the consciousness is ready, it will unfold itself. It will reveal itself. I think Reverend Amy, just about the experience that all of you are going through here in Cityside, I mean with the move next week.
(11:17):
This did not just happen yesterday. This just did not happen a month ago or a year ago. This has been in the planning. There has been a lot of unknown in this experience. For a while you didn’t know where you were going for a while. You didn’t know how you were going to get there for a while. You didn’t know when it was going to happen, but there was a lot of unknowns. But guess what? You had to do what? You had to place some trust in the unknown knowing that this thing that was inside of you that was well enough that you guys been praying about, you guys envisioning and you knew that at some point in the right place at the right time, guess what? It would be revealed to you. And guess what? It has happened. Because you allowed yourself to trust the process.
(12:22):
You did not put a time limit on the process. You didn’t say, okay, universe, this must happen in 30 days. This must happen in six months. You trusted the process
(12:33):
And you allowed yourself to work in the process to work with the universe, to open yourselves up to get to that which was possible to that which was possible trust in life.
(13:02):
I would say a few years back I had a situation where I had to place some trust. I had to place some trust in life and Y Van Z talks about filters and some of the filters that she had to work through as she had to trust in life because there was a lot of distrust that she had to work through because of things that her grandmother had told her, some things that she had learned in life and she began to look at other people. She began to look at life through those filters and then she had an experience, she said as she was working to become a life coach. She said during that training she had an experience where she realized that because of the filters that she was looking at life through that these filters were somewhat holding her back. She was looking through these filters and understanding that yes, there might have been some facts going on there, but as I look and see that I have established these filters and some of them were unconscious filters. Do you know that sometimes we have unconscious filters that we judged like we see life through? She said there were some unconscious filters and she was judging people by beliefs, opinions, attitudes that she had acquired or that her grandmother or that life had some life experiences that she had. And she began to realize that those were not all true. The way I was looking at people were not always true. So she had to adjust her filters.
(14:42):
And I just remember a couple of years ago. As I had to place some trust in life because I was at a point in life where I was beginning personally to question some things because I was looking at my life and I was asking myself, am I allowing life to pass me by? Because there were things Reverend Linda that I was looking to do and that I had not done. And I began to look at other people around me and looking, I began to say, oh, how they are enjoying life? How they are enjoying life, how they are so happy and they are doing all the things that they want to do and need to do. And I began to compare myself to them and then I had to come back to myself and say, okay, I don’t necessarily need to compare myself to them because the thing that’s going on inside of me has nothing to do with them. The thing that’s going on inside me, inside of me has really to do with the spirit within me saying that there is more of me that I need you to express in life. So you need to begin to make some decisions right now. If you want to live that better life, if you want to experience that better life, it’s here for you. I want you to do it. I need you to do it. Stop resisting it.
(16:07):
Stop resisting. And I had to sit down and begin. I became real quiet for a few days and people thought there was something wrong with me. It was nothing wrong with me. I was just adjusting myself or readjusting myself to life and that was life was calling me to do. I was working on getting myself in alignment with the pool of life, the inner pool of life. So I made some adjustments in my affairs. I made some adjustments in the things that I was doing so that I could begin to truly trust in life so that I could begin to reap some of the benefits because this inner pool inside me was saying that I got something greater for you.
(17:03):
It’s in the bank, but you have to be willing to go to that unknown. You have to be willing to be in that unknown for a while because if you’re willing to be in that unknown space for a while, you can reap the dividends. So I learned how to trust the process. I began to give myself over to the process and I began to say, okay, the great divine within me, you do what you need to do. As I get myself out of the way, as I get my ego out of the way, as I get my fears out of the way, yes, I might still hold on to some fears, but I’m going to do it anyway. So it’s a matter of me getting myself out of the way so that life can begin to express itself the way it needs to express itself through me. Trust in life and know that life offers you grace. Life is not here to punish you, but it’s here to help you to learn. It’s here to help you to grow. It’s here to help you to expand. It is part of the activity of consciousness. Life is not here to punish anyone. If you’re going around saying life is hard,
(18:35):
Get that out of your mind. Get that out of your belief system, get that out of the attitude and begin to say no. Life isn’t hard. Life is joyful. Life is loving. Life is life is working for me.
(18:50):
Life is working in my favor. Life is offering me grace. I might not be where I want to be right now, but I give thanks that life does not punish me for the things that I have not done. I’m give thanks that life is not punish me for the things that I did. Do I give thanks that there is grace in life and that life is propelling me, that life is still telling me there is more for you to do. I’m not through with you yet. There is more and more and more for you to do for what you experience. And my grace life is in my grace I offer you. Just listen to me. Life doesn’t test you, but life pulls you. It pulls you in the direction that is for your highest good, where you can experience life’s greatest satisfactions. Life doesn’t test you. Life just wants the best for you. As I begin to close here, za, she gives us four important, I’m going to say connection points. She gives us four things in the process
(20:24):
That we must continue to do and that we must continue to be aware of as we are trusting in life, as we are trusting in the process. She says, number one, have an understanding. Have an understanding of the nature of the divine and have an understanding of yourself. Understanding that the nature of the divine is absolute good. Life wants you to experience good because that is the nature of the divine. And as we talk about our nature, the divine is within us. I am one with the divine. The divine is one with me. So my nature is also absolute good. Let me not separate myself from that which life wants to offer me. Let me not punish myself by thinking of myself as something different than how life sees me. And then she says, intuition, each of us have a spark of divinity within us. Trust that spark of divinity within yourself. It is your connection. The ever present is your connection to the infinite intelligence within your source. Your intuition is your greatest teacher. It gives you insight, it gives you information, it gives you guidance that is required to walk this walk called life.
(21:58):
Number three, be vulnerable. Be willing to make mistakes. Be willing to be right as well as wrong. Be vulnerable. It’s not weak to be vulnerable. It’s a necessary requirement in our own development because it helps us to become stronger because it helps us to begin to develop a deeper trust in ourself, in God and in the process. And number four, there has to be a willingness in the process. Trust requires a willingness to admit what you do not know and to stand firm on that what you do know. You must be willing to know more to unlearn what you have learned and to learn something new so you can build your capacity to trust. You must be willing to know more. You must be willing to unlearn some stuff. Everything that there’s some stuff we hold on to that we have learned that we refuse to let go. But you have to be willing to unlearn some stuff. Understand that some of the stuff I learned, whether it’s through education, whether through culture, whether through peers, some of the stuff I learned was not for my highest good, and it is also not the truth. So I must be willing to let go of some stuff. I’m going to be willing to let go of some of the things I’ve learned. I must be willing to change my filter so that I can see myself differently. I can see God differently. I can see life differently,
(24:00):
Trust in life, travel, that road of trust, trust in that process. I guarantee you there’s great dividends. Let’s turn within right now. Father, mother, God, we give thanks right now for life. For there’s only one power. There’s only one presence. And as God, the good omnipotent, the only thing that God offers us, it is all of God. And when God offers us all of God, that means God is also offering us all of good. And as we continue to trust this process called life, it might take us down some roads that we’re unfamiliar with, but be okay with the discomfort because you won’t be there long because comfort is a little bit further down that road and we never walk along. But the creator, our source, our God, walks every step with us, leading us, guiding us, directing us, informing us with everything that we need to know. Trust yourself. Trust yourself, trust yourself. And as you trust yourself, gain even greater trust in God as you gain even greater trust in God. Trust a process called life and know that the best is yet to come for you. There’s good everywhere. Life is good.
(26:32):
Life is wonderful. Life is God. Thank you God for life. Thank you God for joy. Thank you God for peace. Thank you God for placing all of yourself inside of us where we can experience it day in and day out, moment by moment. Thank you, God for life. And so it is. Amen.