Even though businesses are opening and restrictions are lifting, our lives are far from normal. We are secluded. Concerts and gatherings have been canceled. It will be an odd summer.
Being in a global pandemic doesn’t encourage positive emotions.
Stress depletes us. Our bodies, minds, and spirits crave homeostasis—internal balance, equilibrium, harmony. We can’t feel good unless we feel safe and stable. And even though we can’t control the outside world, we can do several things to control our inner world.
Seldom will your day go perfectly, but you get to choose how to engage with it. From the moment you step out of bed, joyfully or defiantly, you are telling the Universe your desires and expectations.
It’s that time of year again when many of us commit to great plans of self-improvement and vow to follow through this time. Our plans are often the same, year after year: lose weight, get in shape, quit drinking, stop smoking, eat healthier, get a better job, go back to school, be kinder, or have a better attitude. Within a short amount of time, most of us will fall back into the comfort of our old-established habits.
I have moved more than 20 times—anywhere from 1 to 2600 miles away from a prior location. Moving taught me the importance of keeping what is important and discarding what is not. Not just personal possessions, but people, feelings, behaviors, thoughts, beliefs, and habits. By learning to let go, I learned to live an intentional life.
Socrates said (via Plato, in Apology), “the unexamined life is not worth living.” I agree.
I will turn 50 in a few weeks, which has prompted much introspection about where I’ve been and where I am going in life. Overall, I am appreciative of the path I’ve created. I’m deeply grateful for everything that has worked out and all that didn’t. Interestingly, those things that didn’t work out were often my greatest teachers.
“If there is a will, there is a way” is a meaningful childhood lesson that taught us to go for our biggest goals and dreams with gusto. It reminded us to persevere in the face of all sorts of challenges because growth and rewards were the promises of staying on our desired path. As we boldly sprinted out into the big world, assured that everything we desired would come to fruition, many of us fell short of our ideal. Some people quit, some got stuck, some changed their minds, and a few “lucky” ones found their way through.
A dear friend of mine died a couple of weeks ago. He packed a lot of life into forty-six years, so I don’t think he left with regret. But after such a great ride, many of us wondered why he stepped off when he did. While he had several health issues, none seemed immediate. Therefore, it was a shock to his friends and family when he got sick and died so quickly.
Amid the various stimuli that occur around us, there is a continuous dialogue that goes on inside each of us. We are not always aware of this internal chatter, but it is always occurring. Self-talk, or internal communication, can be directed to produce positive results, or we can let it wander aimlessly if we do not care about the direction of our lives.
We are creative spiritual beings who thrive when we are exercising our most powerful and sacred tool of mind—our imagination. It is through our imagination that we discover all that is possible, and then, through the art of visualization, we design and build our ideal in the mental world. Only then is it possible in the physical world.
As a child, I was always a bit of a trouble-maker. In middle school, my riotous laughing fits earned me more green slips (disciplinary letters sent to parents) than any other student I knew. In high school, I was kicked out of driver’s education for creating a chaotic uproar of laughter (not a proud moment for my mother, considering she worked for our local driver’s license office). Sometimes my fellow students were laughing at me, sometimes with me. It didn’t matter—we were laughing and it felt good.
As I was completing my book Creating Your Path: Harnessing Your Spiritual Powers to Create a Vibrant Life, I rose early each day so that I could adequately prepare for a productive course of writing. I would meditate, drink coffee, and gather my thoughts before I started the creative journey. At the time, I had recently moved and did not have access to a television. It became easy to avoid news and what was wrong in the world. Instead, I would watch a vast array of brief motivational videos while I ate my breakfast. I noticed that I felt pretty good afterward and was able to move into writing with ease and positive expectancy. As a result, I was productive.
Imagine going to a restaurant (any restaurant will do). When the waiter asks you what you would like, you reply, “I’ll take whatever you have available. I don’t care.” While your results might be interesting, your experience would not likely be ideal. I know what you are thinking, “Who would do that—go to a restaurant and not choose what they want? That is absurd!” I agree.
Humans are creatures of habit. Habits can serve us. Habits can destroy us. Learning to create constructive habits is an important skill if you seek to create contentment in your life.
Humans are creatures of habit. Habits can serve us. Habits can destroy us. Learning to create constructive habits is an important skill if you seek to create contentment in your life.
The definition of synchronicity, according to www.oxforddictionaries.com is: “The simultaneousoccurrence of events that appearsignificantlyrelated but have no discerniblecausalconnection.” Have you ever thought of someone you have not spoken with in a while, and they happen to call? Have you ever had a dream and then had a similar experience once you were awake? Have you ever lost a loved one and then noticed mysterious signs or messages that only they could send? These sorts of things happen all the time, yet many do not even notice them.
An article about “efficiency” would likely appeal to those individuals seeking to get more done in a day, week, month, or a lifetime. However, this is not that type of article. Many of us have far too many goals and things on our to-do list. Even if we had a lifetime, we would not complete them all. I don’t think we came into this life to see how much we could achieve or get done, but rather choose those thoughts, feelings, activities, and conditions that really make us feel fully alive and vibrant.
Goals are a timely topic as this year comes to a close. Many desire a fresh new start, which any person can initiate at any time. Yet, cultural norms suggest that change is best made at the start of a new year. Although I am in favor of making changes as soon as a person desires something different than what they currently have, I can appreciate that a new year encourages thinking about changes that one desires.
You are one with the Creator of all life, and you have the same characteristics; therefore, you have the potential to bring anything you desire into your own life. Creating a wonderful life is your Divine right and responsibility. Live in your greatness! Hiding in your smallness does not serve anyone. All that is required of you is the following: