Being open to new experiences

I periodically volunteer in the kitchen at a homeless shelter, helping prepare and serve the food. Since I was scheduled to work there this evening, I woke up in the morning looking forward to it, a feeling I get when I am really enjoying a certain experience.

When I got to the shelter I asked the cook what I could help with, and he asked if I wanted to chop 2 pounds of onions, to which I happily said yes, while I remembered that chopping onions usually make me cry.
As I was about to start he showed me a onion-chopping trick that I didn't know, that would hold the onion together during the chopping process. Although that might be trivial to some cooking experts out there, it certainly was a new skill for me ! 
So there I was chopping onions for an hour and half, actively listening to the cook as he was sharing with me part of his life story. He said he went from losing his job, to becoming a homeless for 2 weeks, to then deciding he wanted to turn his life around and get out of that undesired situation. 
In his own words he told me he surrendered to the Universe and asked for guidance, and to his surprise the next day he met some of the shelter coordinators that told him about the programs offered by the shelter. So he enrolled on a culinary program sponsored by the non-profit organization and started to volunteer at the kitchen, dedicating his time to learn, grow and serve. He spoke on a very positive note, being very optimistic and grateful for the opportunity.
I could sense how much he's been embracing and appreciating the transformation that is happening for him, and how now he can be an inspiration to others that are going through hard time.

We, human beings, mostly learn through experience; as much as words can be inspiring and helpful, only experience can really teach.
To attract the experience that will teach us what we need to learn to advance to the next level, we have to be open to it. We have to listen to our internal guidance, to pay attention to the signs, to follow the hunch without being over analytical, and then be patient while the process unfolds.
I have been allowing myself to make time to do things that I love - volunteering is one of them - that make me feel connected to myself, to nature, to life; things that make me feel joyful. 
And because I've chosen to immerse in what makes me feel good, it has become a natural process to have those moments throughout my day.
I call it self-love and alignment with Source. 
We all have the power to create our experiences even though we don't know exactly how those experiences will come about, which actually make them even more exciting as we embrace the deliciousness of life.  
Another day on this planet, I am grateful to be here as an active participant of my own life. And to my surprise, I finished chopping the onions and they didn't make me cry!

Peace and Love to all.

"I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become." ~Carl Jung

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