You Were Born for This Time

My neighbour comes over to return a plate and tells me another story of how this hamlet was when she first came here forty three years ago.

Back then, all of the twelve houses were occupied by employees (and their families) of the Ministry of Defence. That’s why the houses were built in the 1920s. 

There were much fewer cars then, she tells me (you wouldn’t believe the number of cars parked in this tiny hamlet now) and they all spent time at each other’s houses.

The roads, gardens and verges were all beautifully maintained and she used to babysit at the colonel’s house and even though it was just around the corner, she would always be walked home afterwards. 

There were lots of shops in the local village where they went for everything they needed (just one shop now) and she remembers huge numbers of puffball mushrooms (she hasn’t seen a single one here in years).

When she’s finished recounting her stories I say, “I wish I could have seen it back then. I often feel like I was born at the wrong time.”

Like many sensitive people, I’ve often had a feeling that I wasn’t meant for this modern world, with all its noise, busyness and destruction. I’ve felt as though it’s not for me and that it’s some sort of mistake that I’ve ended up here now. I’ve felt like an alien and a misfit in a world where so many people appear to be totally ok with the way things are.

But some spiritual teachings suggest that our souls chose to come here in human form at exactly this moment in time. I don’t have any direct experience to know whether this is true or not but when the idea popped into my mind the other day, I realised it could be an interesting idea to play with.

Telling myself that I’m not meant for this modern world, that I was born at the wrong time or that I don’t fit in or belong here isn’t an empowering story to tell.

It’s a story that leads to a feeling that I’ve somehow simply got to cope, manage, or find a way to survive in this time that I wasn’t meant for. It’s a story that keeps me distant and separate from others and it’s a story that has me retreat away from the world.

But if instead I believe that not only was I meant for this time but that I specifically chose to come here at this time, well, that changes everything, don’t you think? 

Assuming that I chose to come here at this time and assuming also that my sensitive nature isn’t a mistake to correct or a problem to fix, but rather exactly the way I was meant to be, I can feel how this creates both a greater sense of purpose for my time here on earth and also a greater sense of belonging to the world.

What if my longing for some of the qualities of an earlier time (quiet, stronger communities, local economies, respect for one another and the earth) and my choosing to be here now is exactly as it is meant to be? 

What if I came here now, with this sensitivity and these longings precisely to help play a part in bringing those qualities from our past into our present so that the old ways and the modern ways can meld to create something new and beautiful? 

Many highly sensitive, creative, empathic, intuitive humans are doing exactly this. Just last week a reader wrote to tell me about how she’s studying herbal medicine, another is about to start a sound-healing business. I have readers who are animal communicators, therapists, artists, writers, Ayurvedic practitioners, teachers, gardeners and a whole other multitude of wonderful things. 

We are all here now, helping weave together what is beautiful from our past with what is beautiful from our present to help create an even more beautiful future. 

If, like me, you’ve often felt you weren’t meant for this time, how might it change things to try on the idea that not only are you meant for this time, but that you actually chose it?

Love and courage,

Leah