Missing Signs? Wrong Destination!
by Manijeh Motaghy
Missing Signs? Wrong Destination! is a story of how we can unknowingly take the wrong path and end up at the wrong destination. Miss all signs that indicate the direction and the destination, both literally and metaphorically. Years ago, my son, Kuroosh, who regularly competed at horse shows was participating at a show at the San Diego Fairgrounds. It was a beautiful sunny day and he had won the championship ribbon. At the end of the show he asked if he could stay to help his trainer pack up and return home with her and the rest of their group. I happily accepted. A proud mother, I left the fairgrounds to head home on my own. I can’t remember how much time had passed, but I found myself passing a toll booth. “That was bizarre,” I thought, “When did they start a toll booth between LA and San Diego?” Though it felt odd, I didn’t think much of it. Soon after the freeway became narrower and I saw the sign, Rosarito. How could I have missed all the other signs? 405 SOUTH? Was I in Mexico? First, I was shocked, then horrified, without a passport nor intending to do so I had passed the US border into Mexico.
Yes, thank God, things weren’t like they are today at the border.
It seemed like I had no other option but to go through, into the city. While driving around to find my way back, I went though periods of fear, worry, confusion not knowing what to do. I even fell into an exciting delusion that I was there anyway, why not stay overnight and vacation? But quickly, I let that thought go and tended to getting myself out of a possible mess, incarceration, etc. and back home safe. What should have been a 2 -3 hour drive took me 9 extra hours to get home, which I was grateful for.
A Metaphor
This example is a perfect metaphor for taking a path in life we don’t intend to and ending up as unhappy fearful adults who can’t remember what was it that got us there. I definitely did not mean to go to Mexico and didn’t realize I was going there either. Obviously, I had missed the signs, lost in thoughts and on autopilot. I trusted my purpose of going home to be enough and didn’t even for a second consider I maybe going the wrong way.
So, the question is, where in life do we choose a path unknowingly and continue it, ending up in places we feel miserable or stuck? Could be in career, relationship, spiritual path, education, friendship, our wealth and health. Being awake is the key. But how could you become awake if you don’t know you are not awake, like me not knowing I was going the opposite way to home.
The Birth of the Awakening Class
Years after, I worked with a private client, who wanted to seriously look at his life. He had been given one year to live. Aside from running around to prolong that life he wanted to achieve true happiness before the end came. So, I designed a curriculum for he and I to work with based on a lot of the material from Steven Levine’s book, One Year To Live and called it Becoming Alive! We looked at the rate of satisfaction in many areas of his life. What was in his bucket list and his relationship to life and death. The legacy he’d want to leave behind. What he could still teach his teenagers while there was some chance. His own emotional state and how he may patch things up with his father who was harsh and distant. He wanted the chance and guidance to do it right, make it right and have it right. This was quiet an experience for him. So meaningful in fact, that he suggested I create such a class for groups of people, and I did. The class for the group evolved as Awakening Through Mindfulness to a Magnificent Being. As for my dear client, he is still alive after four years. Living happier than ever.
A Chance to Do it Right, Make it Right,
and Have it Right.
Awakening Through Mindfulness to a Magnificent Being takes you through a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, of love, compassion and courage. Raising the bar on happiness and learning that your happiness is not negotiable. To be awake while walking the path of your life so you don’t end up in Mexico instead of Los Angeles, if you didn’t want to.
Dr. Manijeh Motaghy is a Behavioral Psychologist, a UCLA Affiliate Mindfulness trainer speaker and life coach. She has worked with hundreds of individuals and groups transforming lives. She continually receives rave reviews.
“I have always been struck by how Manijeh’s discipline, professionalism, and work ethic co-exist so seamlessly with sensitivity, calmness, joy, dedication, and above all, kindness.”
∼ Peggy Palmer ∼
