אתה האחד

One enchanted afternoon in November 2008, I found myself on a quiet terrace in Ojai, near Los Angeles. The sun was going down, and the mountains around us had turned a deep, glowing pink. It was a sight I could have seen any day, but that afternoon it moved me more than ever. I sat on one side of the table. Across from me sat Byron Katie, radiant with wisdom, humility, and love. In those extraordinary moments, she was the closest thing to an enlightened spiritual teacher I had ever met.

To my right sat Dror Leshem, business development manager at Coaching Interactive. Together, we presented our vision to Katie: to transform her books and The Work into an interactive program that could reach millions of people around the world. We believed wholeheartedly that the internet could make her method accessible on an unprecedented scale.

I looked at her and, for a moment, felt as though I were walking on air. Here I was, sitting across from Byron Katie, a woman with something almost angelic about her, a glow, a kind of magic, a beauty that won you over on the spot. What a privilege, I thought.

As I described our plan, Katie suddenly rose, came around the table, sat beside me, and took my hand. Tears began to stream from her eyes. Soon they became deep, wrenching sobs that echoed across the quiet terrace and seemed to shake the air itself. For a moment, I was confused, embarrassed, and uneasy. Had I said something that hurt her? Had I made some kind of mistake? Dror and I exchanged worried glances. I hesitated. Should I say something?

Katie raised her head, looked deeply into my eyes, and said, “Doron, I've been waiting for you all my life. You're the one who will bring me to millions of people around the world.” I would never forget what she said.

Her words struck me with a force I had never known. I felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders, the full weight of her expectations. Fear flooded me. Could I live up to what she expected of me? Did I have it in me to help bring her great dreams to life?

I took a deep breath, looked at her, and said, “Katie, you are the one. You wrote the books. You speak from the stage. You lead The Work. I'll just help you reach more of the world.”

“Doron,” she replied, “everything happens for you, not to you.”

That sentence changed my life.