Some people may ask: “If the universe is really a friendly place, why not all of our dreams become fulfilled? Why do we have to deal with hardships and to suffer losses? Why so often we feel like we are bound, and it is impossible for us to become free?”

People think on these issues for ages, and no argument seems to be fully convincing. However, I would like to invite you to look over the meaning of friendliness. Whom do you call your friend, and why? We often say that a friend is a person who is ready to help us. But I doubt that we would call our friends those who act toward us as servants or nannies. It is true that friends help each other — but there is always a deeper dimension in friendly relationships. A true friend values our freedom and independence. A true friend supports us in our desire to achieve greater maturity, to become self-reliant and self-sufficient. A true friend encourages us to grow and to unfold our gifts. For this reason, a real friend always realizes that there is always a fine line that he or she should not cross in attempts to help us. Friends are known not only by their ability to come, but also by their ability to step aside.

Could it be that the universe acts towards us in the same way? Certainly, the universe fulfills our dreams — if it would not be so, no dream would ever be fulfilled. But the problem with so many people is that they have many shallow desires which often contradict each other. For this reason, the universal power becomes scattered or misused. Chaos in people’s minds cannot create order in their lives. At the same time, most people are not in contact with their deepest desires. Essentially, these desires represent the urge of Life which wants to express itself through human beings. These desires stimulate us to become more conscious, responsible, and creative. When we discover these desires and follow them through, we find that all the universal resources which we need for their successful accomplishment are coming to us in a timely manner.

What do you think about desires you currently have? Are they aligned with the urge of Life within you? Many individuals don’t even ask this question. All they want in life is to get pleasure. Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t think that there is something wrong in pleasure per se. But if people are unable to put their life in the universal perspective, most of the time they choose wrong ways to satisfaction. If they forget to live in alignment with the laws of life, after a time they begin to surer and to lose that which they gained. Happiness which they earnestly seek seems to become elusive for them. Even more, they are unable to understand why it happens.

It is a childish behaviour to complain about indifference or hostility of the universe when we encounter unpleasant of challenging experiences. They are coming to us to make us think: are we in harmony with our true purpose and with our true desires? Perhaps, we need broader understanding of who we are and what is our place in life. We thought that we know it, and we lived our life according to our best understanding — but now it proves to be insufficient. We need to make new steps in our development.

There is no reason to be afraid of difficulties. They invite us into a new adventure of self-discovery and self-expression. Now, we have a chance to get a new perspective, and to express those abilities which we’ve never expressed before.

Some people secretly hope that their desires will be fulfilled without their active participation. But we won’t do our part; the universe won’t come to help. It promises no pie in the sky. The universal resources are available only to those who are ready to use them.

If we trust the urge of Life within us, we will move forward regardless of our fear of making mistakes. As Brad Jensen puts it, “When you give yourself a permission to be wrong, nothing can prevent your success”.