The Pursuit of Happyness

Saturday I received a true blessing and a great lesson from the Universe. I was truly being led and I listened to the call of the Universe and the sound of my inner voice and I took heed. Casting aside all of the negative chatter that was trying to keep me away from the CPCU Conferment Ceremony I was meant to attend.

I arrived in New Orleans on a beautiful and picture perfect Saturday afternoon after a long journey and all I wanted to do was to have some down time. Walk around the city and browse whatever was around so I thought. But my cell phone buzzed and it was the woman who had organised the panel I was going to be speaking on for the Sunday giving me the run down of events that would be starting in about an hour from the time I received her message.

I debated about whether to attend the events or to just relax but every fibre in my being told me to go to the events so I relented. Despite it being a Saturday, I was going to be full on business. No rest for the weary I thought. I showered and dressed within that hour and found myself walking into the conference centre a few minutes early but the hall was packed. At least the front was and everyone who knows me knows I don’t like to sit at the back unless I have to leave. I like to be up front so I can look into the eyes of those who are speaking to me and feel their energy to see if what they are saying is truth or just jargon.

I walked down the packed hall to the front most seat I could find and settled myself in reluctantly and with a resigned attitude that I was there and I was not planning to stay for the duration. The Conference opened with a children’s choir from one of the elementary schools singing the Star Spangled Banner and though it is not my national Anthem, the sound of the children’s voices touched me in a special way. My feelings of resignation started to lift, opening me up to start enjoying the experience I was about to have. Letting me know I was in the place I was supposed to be in. My unease shifting to anticipation.

And then the CPCU organisation did something I had not seen before as I have not been to a Conferment ceremony in many years. The whole feel of the ceremony has shifted to one of celebration and inclusiveness rather than form and drudgery. They selected two new CPCU designees’ stories of what they went through to get their designations. Both stories were touching and each woman though she came from a different perspective basically told the stories of how they turned tragedy and adversity into opportunity and possibility.

Setting the stage wonderfully for the keynote speaker, Chris Gardner, the author of the all inspiring book, The  Pursuit of Happyness and the character behind the man played by Will Smith in the movie of the same title. Chris Gardner blew me away with his talk about and belief in a concept he has coined as “spiritual genetics”.

Chris believes that we are defined not by where we come from or what privileges we have been given but by our belief in self worth, by our belief in ourselves, by our belief that we can be or have anything that we want. And it matters not what background we come from, some of us are just predisposed to make it in this world and make it big.

He showed us the scene from the movie of Will Smith and his son on the basketball court where Will says to his son, “Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you…You can’t do something. Not even me. All right?”  One of the most tear jerking scenes in the movie. Causing a tear to form in my eye as I thought about some of the roadblocks that have been put in my way and the road blocks I have unconsciously put in the way of my own children because of conditioning to believe that I and they have a to be a certain way in order to make it in society when in fact they are already wired to be who they are and all I am here to do is to enable their spiritual genetics to develop in the way it is meant to. As I know all too well from my life.

He further brought this point home when he told us how his mother always used to tell him, “You got a dream…You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go for it. Period.” Reawakening the dreams within me that I have told I cannot achieve. Filling me with great hope and possibility. Sending tingles up and down my spine. 

Once he walked off stage to a standing ovation, the doors opened and in marched a local marching band as balloons fell out the ceiling, princesses and people on stilts came down the hall.  Bringing with them the spirit of New Orleans filling me with promise and life. 

Once all of the hoopla died down and as I was walking out of the hall, I spotted Chris Gardner at the front of the room and contrary to the way I normally am, I turned and walked back to the front to be in the presence of this great man. To honour him in the way he had honoured me that afternoon. I shook his hand and thanked him for helping me to see the light and to reconnect with the spiritual genetics in me.

I even had my photo taken with Chris afterwards because I was so inspired by his words, by his persona, by his spiritual genetics and by the fact that he embraces who he is no matter where he is and does not feel the need to be anything but who he is. Sealing the lesson and blessing that I had been led to exactly where I was meant to be and got it deep down in my soul on a Saturday afternoon in New Orleans.