Q: Hey Aarde,

If I believe in luck, fate, and destiny, then how am I supposed to manifest anything? Like, it’s already set up to be what it is and I just have to accept it, even if it’s horrible?

-Karmically Confused

A: Hey there, Karmically Confused,

Hopefully, it will spark your spirit to hear that you’re not alone in your query! Please consider that we are predestined only to become the best version of ourselves that we can muster. Now, think about you, me, and everyone reading this, who are all fated to experience trials and tribulations as we manifest those best versions of ourselves. How do we do that? By learning how to be individuals within a society- to operate within the guidelines and boundaries of the game’s design: missions like direct communication without erring on the side of passive or aggressive (micro or macro), living in a state of sonder (knowing that everyone is the main character in their own game, facing their own challenges and successes), walking in the shadows of yourself that you have secluded because they are too grueling to uncover, so you avoid and hide them, ashamed that they exist - one must learn how to fold their shadows like softened butter into the flour of themselves.

See, I like to look at life as a video game. First, you create your character, then you spend time designing your skill set, gaining information & tools and eventually earning progress badges. As you advance, the levels become trickier, each boss or mission becomes more arduous, and at the end of each level (hoping that you do not give up and sink into the swamps of sadness), each triumph comes with a sweetness corresponding to the intensity of the level completed. Yes, there are plateaus. Yes, there are moments where you wish you had a cheat code. And at times, you might wonder if you should start all over. But what I know from being a repeat player of this game is that if you continue to follow the laid-out prompts, stay open to new solution-based perspectives, and operate within the boundaries of the game’s design – you will find yourself triumphant! A player’s resilience and positive mindset is the very essence of manifestation!

Aarde has studied Self & Society, Philosophy, Ethics, Existentialism, and Religion at the University of Washington. She has decades of personal study on Complex Religious Trauma, Vibrational Shifting, and Somatic & Sound healing techniques. She is an Artist, a Writer, a Dancer, a Death Planner, a Realtor, a Woman, a Mother, a Sister, and a Daughter. And still, none of these facticities explains who she is.

Do you have a burning question you need advice about? Reach out via email to jdaarde@gmail.com or on via Instagram handle ‘aarde_writes.’