Wild Oat:
So Many Choices, So Little Time

Many years ago I worked for someone else and wanted nothing more than to work for myself. All I needed to know was what to do.

I vacillated between wanting to become a psychotherapist, an astrologer, a writer of fiction, a journalist, and a few other career possibilities. I would explore one possibility, learn a little, accomplish a little, then become unsure or bored, and certain that my destiny lay somewhere else.

This is the classic Wild Oat condition. People who need this Essence often have a variety of talents and find mastery of a skill easy. This ease is in itself a source of dissatisfaction; they want challenges, and desire unique achievements. What is lacking in this desire is the willingness to commit to a goal and follow through.

Wild Oat is often described as a state of arrested development, a kind of prolonged adolescence in which the individual is constantly sowing his/her "wild oats." The longer it lasts the more a state of dissatisfaction and restlessness sets in, as well as the feeling that life is passing him/her by. As the years go by frustrations multiply.

How the Seeds Are Sown

The underlying belief which generates and perpetuates the Wild Oat condition is the reluctance to commit, based on the feeling that commitment means restriction, that making a choice is to lock oneself in a kind of prison. A more subtle belief is that once a choice is made the individual will now have to actually settle down and accomplish something.

On a deeper level, the person who hops from possibility to possibility is making choices based on a superficial level. Dr. Bach wrote often and eloquently about the idea that each of has a purpose which is given to us on the soul level, and that finding and fulfilling that purpose is to live a life of joy. (See The Healing Path)

In order to discover this path one needs to stop jumping around and become quiet, to recognize that the answers come, not from the outside world, but from one's own connection to one's soul. When we allow ourselves to be guided from within and act on that wisdom we learn that the "special" thing we are meant to do is to discover and follow our unique purpose in life.

That purpose may not have a fixed job description; I've gone from owning a realtime store to working as a Reiki Master and flower essence counselor and maintaining a website - and I sense that there will be more developments in the future. However, there is a common thread which unifies my vocations: that of teaching others how to awaken their gifts for self-healing and empowerment.

Wild Oat opens the door to communion with one's soul, and to an intuitive understanding of one's purpose. Life, instead of being lived in as many arenas as possible, is lived with depth, purpose, and joy.

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