Joe is in his early fifties, a few years ago he was fighting a losing battle with alcohol.

His battle cost him a senior job, it cost him his wife whom he still loved dearly, and it very nearly cost Joe his life.

When Joe first had to leave his home and family, his mind was understandably and fully consumed by his troubles. Joe was suddenly unemployed and he had no where to live. Joe had lost his wife, his family and his home.

He found accommodation with an older man, who was diagnosed with cancer shortly after Joe moved into his home. The man deteriorated rapidly, and Joe found himself forced to forget his own troubles and nurse his room mate, until it was time for his room mate to move on. Joe's room mate's cancer had saved Joe's life.

When he told me this story, Joe's late room mate communicated with me, and told me that he had hung on to repay a karmic debt which he owed Joe. Only after repaying that karmic debt, was he able to move on.

The following Christmas, Joe was feeling very alone and very depressed. Christmas can be the loneliest time of the year when you are by yourself. Joe decided to take one final step off his 6th floor balcony. On his way to the balcony he found a bottle of beer which he was sure he had previously drunk. Joe decided to have one last drink before taking his last step. He sat down to drink his last bottle of beer, and fell asleep. The very demon that had caused Joe's problem had saved his life.

During the next few years Joe slowly found his way back. He did not stop drinking, but he did learn to know when he had enough. Joe knew the signs and he learned how to recognise the very fine line between enough and too much. Mostly Joe stopped at the line.

Joe found himself a clerical job that he had progressed beyond 20 years earlier. He felt belittled, but he was employed and self-sufficient.

Joe also had a dream, a vague hope that one day he would return to the woman he loved. He knew that returning to the woman he loved was a very slim chance, but she had not moved on, so Joe did have that very slim chance. A slim chance was all that he needed to keep going.

When I met Joe fate had stepped in, and given him an opportunity to again take on a senior position. He needed to overcome his reputation, and he needed to prove himself, but Joe had been given something that he desperately needed, a chance.

Joe grabbed the chance, but it was not easy. Everything was not going well in the area he had taken on. At times it did not seem that Joe's area of responsibility would ever sort itself out. He was also caught in the middle of internal politics, and he was trying very hard to keep everybody happy.

During the first six months in that job I witnessed something happen to Joe. He regained his self-respect.

Suddenly, everything began to fall into place, the political issues which Joe had endured since he joined the company were resolved. The area which Joe was responsible for started showing a profit, and he and his product had gained market acceptance. Business was constantly increasing.

One day Joe's former wife telephoned him to tell him that she had met someone else. Joe was devastated. The faint glimmer of hope which Joe had forlornly clung to for more than three years had been taken away. That faint glimmer of hope was the only thing that had kept him going at times, and it had saved his life on a number of occasions.

As Joe sat talking about what had happened, he saw that he no longer needed that faint hope. Joe had regained his self-respect.

Joe also saw that fate had really been kind to him. Fate had left him with that faint glimmer of hope to cling to, until he no longer needed it, until he no longer needed anything to cling to, and until he could stand on his own two feet.

Joe is just an ordinary guy who had been given some difficult challenges to overcome in this lifetime. Joe's challenges had knocked him to the floor, but he climbed back up. Joe staggered for a while, but he never quite gave up. This was Joe's major lesson in this lifetime, and he learned the lesson. Joe would now learn the benefits of not giving up, before moving on to his next lifetime and his next challenge.

Most importantly, Joe had found his way back to his correct path. He knew that fate had provided him with everything that he needed to find his way back to his correct path. However, he still had to find his way back to his correct path, himself.