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New-Thought

The worst betrayal

I’d love to, if only I had the time.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard these words spoken, I’d be rich.

As we enter into adulthood, we take on many responsibilities in the world. The hopes and dreams of our youth often fall by the wayside, as life’s demands pull us forward on the hamster-wheel of life.

It’s easy to live life out of habit, and lose sight of what we really want to contribute to life.

Each person comes into this world as a unique and necessary part of the mosaic of life, to add their gift or talent to the world. I’m grateful to those who’ve pursued their callings and shared their gifts with the world; they add beauty and goodness to life.

Sadly, it’s not unusual to hear people, as they near the end of their life, regret never having taken the time to explore their talents and do the things they’ve really wanted to do.

Recently, I helped a friend complete something from his bucket-list right before he died. It was sweet, but it certainly caused me to pause.

Too many people leave this planet with their dreams unspent. They’ve let life live them, instead of having lived their life.

It’s easy to let time slip away, fulfilling roles and responsibilities with a sense of blind-duty, and put ourselves and our dreams on the back burner, until it is too late.

We’re conditioned to fulfil our duties to everyone and everything else before we consider our duty to ourselves; our duty to live the life we’ve come here to live. We can leave with our songs unsung.

Life lived me for many years. Each day’s list was full of jobs and activities to be completed. I was sucked into the vortex of chronic busyness at warp-speed and I failed to notice that I was never on my own list.

I’d fallen into the cultural myth of sacrifice and hard work at the expense of myself. I believed it was selfish to put myself first. I was so conditioned into the virtue of sacrifice that I failed to see it robbed me and my family of so much goodness.

Living our best life and honouring our own dreams and passions fills us up; it’s not selfish. You can’t give from an empty vessel. Finding ways to fill ourselves up allows us to be more to others in our lives, not less.

While honouring our commitments and responsibilities to others is of value, it’s also important to make commitments to ourselves; commitments to make our hopes, our dreams, and our own happiness a priority in our lives. To do less is self-betrayal.

Neale Donald Walsh wrote:

“The biggest commitment you must keep is your commitment to yourself. Betrayal of yourself in order not to betray another is betrayal nonetheless. It is the highest betrayal.”

What fills you up? What dreams and aspirations do you hold?

Are you willing to make a commitment to yourself to make pursuing these a priority in your life?

Consider writing down your hopes and dreams, and then craft a letter of commitment to yourself to fulfill that which you came here to be.

Don’t let your song die unsung.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Corinne is first a wife, mother, and grandmother, whose eclectic background has created a rich alchemy that serves to inform her perspectives on life.

An assistant minister at the Centre for Spiritual Living Kelowna, she is a retired nurse with a master’s degree in health science and is a hospice volunteer.  She is also an adjunct professor with the school of nursing  at UBC Okanagan and currently spends her time teaching smartUBC, a unique mindfulness program offered at UBC, to the public. 

She is a speaker and presenter and from her diverse experience and knowledge, both personally and professionally, she has developed an extraordinary passion for helping people gain a new perspective, awaken and recognize we do not have to be a slave to our thoughts, stress or to life. We are always at a point of change.

Through this column, Corinne blends her insights and research to provide food for the mind and the heart, to encourage an awakening of the power and potential within everyone.

Corinne lives in Kelowna with her husband of 44 years and can be reached at [email protected].



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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