In Taoist philosophy, it is understood that each of us is born into the world with a curriculum. This curriculum is a set of challenges and themes and things our souls are here to learn. We do this kind of learning simply by moving through our lives. Just being yourself is following this curriculum.
It is said that our souls are a piece of the sky scooped out by the big dipper.
You could understand this as literal or as metaphoric. The gist, I think, is that we come from something as vast and uncontainable as the sky, but we are a very specific and individual piece of it.
What is the life that only you can live?
Our destiny is something we can feel in our own bodies. It’s the apprehension of a clear message of YES that we feel in our whole being when we are doing something we absolutely love, or feel like we were “made to do.”
Being a teenager is very much about getting in touch with the YES. And the mystery around ourselves. “Who am I?” and “What am I doing here on this planet?” “What do I want to do with my life?” are questions that can arise at this time. These questions can be terrifying and paralyzing, if we are made to feel like we have to have it all figured out. But if we have time and opportunities to find that yes and the mystery that comes before the yes, then we can be fully empowered to apprehend our destiny and know ourselves even more deeply.
Maybe we don’t always live in total alignment with that YES, but the idea is for us to try to learn to listen to that part deep inside that rumbles or screams or whispers the affirmation. When we do step into some alignment, we thrive and we are great. So the Taoist perspective is that we are each destined to greatness, each in our own way.
Listen to your curriculum and the stories carried there. When you are asked to write about yourself, it’s a perfect opportunity to speak your own truth. And it’s clear when you speak from that place, because doing so, you shine like the big dipper.