Soul Matters – October 2024

WHAT WANTS TO HAPPEN?

I frequently pose this question to clients who have come to the end of something but aren’t sure what’s next. “What wants to happen?” takes you out of your head and into your intuition, into an awareness of the subtle energies that are always flowing. When we align with that flow, life unfolds with greater ease, balance, and harmony. And, more often than not, it takes us places we never could have imagined.

Soul Matters. That’s what I named this column 15 years ago. I liked the double entendre and I loved how it so succinctly stated one of my core beliefs. My work has always been based on the maxim that soul matters very much indeed: it is our essence, our guide, our inner voice of wisdom, the balance and foil to our nattering ego. Learning to hear this voice—to heed and value it and help others to do the same—has been the unifying thread of my life’s journey. And now, something else wants to happen.

I’ve loved writing this column, even when I didn’t. I felt compelled to say “Yes,” when then-new-owner Whit Parker asked if I wanted to write a column for the Review, even though we’d only just met, and I had never written anything outside of academic papers and journal entries. Writing Soul Matters helped me find my voice, led to authoring three books, and allowed me to share my experience with others, none of which I planned or imagined I would do. Over the years, I have been moved by countless notes and conversations sharing how my words have helped in some way. It’s truly been an honor. And although I am ending this column, I am still seeing clients and my writing will still be posted on my website, kintsugicoaching.com.

It’s bittersweet to let go of people and places and things that you love, but I know that when Soul speaks, I need to listen; every time I haven’t, I’ve paid the price, and every time I have, it has led me somewhere good. (Like when it told me to leave my Ph.D. program halfway through and I kicked and screamed but ultimately surrendered, only to discover that what wanted to happen was for me to bring two amazing souls into the world, something my 39-year-old self had never even considered. I wanted a doctorate, but what wanted to happen was for me to become a mother, the greatest joy and most meaningful experience of my life.)

I think it’s important to show the Universe that you’re listening, that you’re trusting and willing to let go, and willing also to trust and believe that in the letting go, new possibilities will appear. I don’t yet know what wants to happen, but I feel in my being that something does, and I’m excited to see what it is.

I bid farewell full of gratitude for this opportunity; for you, my readers; and for unknown new beginnings.

With thanks and love — Kate