Which job should I take? Which career path should I follow? Which life choice should I make?
We often get stuck in indecision. There are two things about decisions, even big life decisions:
1. There are no wrong decisions. There isn’t some grand and detailed plan, that if we make the wrong decision, we will screw up our whole life. There isn’t a place where it is all written down for us to find and follow. There is only what we feel and what we learn along the way. If our intentions are honest, compassionate, and open to learning more, we cannot go wrong. This does not mean that we will not feel pain, or suffer loss. Life flows in and out of pain and loss, bliss and suffering. But nothing is permanent. We must accept that; whichever path we take, life will give us portions of each. Proceed mindfully. If we are mindful (present in each moment), we are better able to make course corrections along the way.
2. Though there are no wrong decisions, there are those that may optimize our experience in this life. In order to make a good decision for me now, I have to be present in the moment to recognize any clues that my inner being might be telling me about which path to take. We must not blindly walk through our life as if on auto-pilot, but come to the present and take the power back into ourselves.
If we are present, and feel no clear direction, we should stay with it for a little while. But we must not allow indecision to take root in our life. Make a choice – a mindful, thoughtful choice forward. Pick. We set our intentions to be honest, compassionate and open to learning and growing more each day. Then we step forward into life.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Crooked Path
When we are young we ask ourselves what will I be when I grow up. When we are in high school, we fret over which college to attend, which courses to take, which degree to pursue. When we graduate from college, we search for which job we should accept or can get. As we age, we wonder if we made the right choices, if a different choice wouldn’t have led to a happier, more successful or more satisfied life. We change jobs. Sometimes we go back to school and learn new skills and change the course of our lives. Sometimes we stay put, resigned. This is our fate.
But we can see it differently. We can stop and engage now.
There are those who find their heart’s work when they are young and pursue the path that feeds their soul all their life. Occasionally we meet these people and are amazed at how right their lives fit with who they are. But most of our paths have more starts and stops, more curves in the road, more detours to navigate, more challenges to overcome. This does not mean that we have not Lived on Purpose. For us, we simply have to look deeper inside, and distill the complexity of our path to a simpler formula.
When have I felt peace? When have I understood bliss? At what moment in my life have I encountered passion for a task or for an idea? When have I felt the joy of offering something of myself and been proud of the result? Look for these clues in your life. You may find that you have had many of them.
As a mother, I can find more than a thousand moments of a Life on Purpose. As a friend, partner, worker, daughter, community member, I can find many more. As a student of life, happiness and peace, I have found countless more moments. If I string them all together, I see the purpose in my life more clearly.
Sometimes we can only see how what we do for a living is on Purpose, when we look deeper into who we are, and to whom we belong. If we give of ourselves and be present with our families, our friends, our co-workers, and our communities, we will find that a Live of Purpose is ours every moment of every day.
But we can see it differently. We can stop and engage now.
There are those who find their heart’s work when they are young and pursue the path that feeds their soul all their life. Occasionally we meet these people and are amazed at how right their lives fit with who they are. But most of our paths have more starts and stops, more curves in the road, more detours to navigate, more challenges to overcome. This does not mean that we have not Lived on Purpose. For us, we simply have to look deeper inside, and distill the complexity of our path to a simpler formula.
When have I felt peace? When have I understood bliss? At what moment in my life have I encountered passion for a task or for an idea? When have I felt the joy of offering something of myself and been proud of the result? Look for these clues in your life. You may find that you have had many of them.
As a mother, I can find more than a thousand moments of a Life on Purpose. As a friend, partner, worker, daughter, community member, I can find many more. As a student of life, happiness and peace, I have found countless more moments. If I string them all together, I see the purpose in my life more clearly.
Sometimes we can only see how what we do for a living is on Purpose, when we look deeper into who we are, and to whom we belong. If we give of ourselves and be present with our families, our friends, our co-workers, and our communities, we will find that a Live of Purpose is ours every moment of every day.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Journey
Living on Purpose is a journey not a destination. We don’t find our “thing” and then do it happily for the rest of our lives. Well, most don’t, especially today. We change, life changes, everything changes. We can’t fight it, not happily. We can only recognize it and roll with it. Jobs come and go, vocations change, and we change our minds and our hearts regarding those jobs and vocations. To Live on Purpose is to accept, embrace and enjoy the changes. To Live on Purpose is to be present enough in each step of life to see, feel and appreciate where you are now. If we are present and following our right path, we will have moments of blissful purpose, times when our inner being flows out effortlessly creating something beautiful. We will also have moments of wandering or searching. In these moments, we must let go. If we stay present, avoid going into the past or predicting the future, our discomfort will ease. If we stay mindful and relaxed, we can remember that things change and a Life of Purpose is a journey not a destination.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Mindful Living
Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that “being on the “right path” has to do with the very concrete ways in which you live your life in every moment.” To Live on Purpose is to live in the moment and to intentionally walk each step mindfully. We must be awake, aware and deliberate; not a sleep walker, blindly going through the motions.
If there are areas in my life that I am not pleased with, things I want to change, I cannot ignore them and hope they will change or go away. I have to embrace them and accept myself. In each moment I can deliberately make a different choice. Unaware motion leads to more of the same. Deliberate choices give me the power to change my life.
If we chose to Live on Purpose, we chose to live mindfully and powerfully in each moment.
* The Art of Power, Thich Nhat Hanh, HarperOne 2007
If there are areas in my life that I am not pleased with, things I want to change, I cannot ignore them and hope they will change or go away. I have to embrace them and accept myself. In each moment I can deliberately make a different choice. Unaware motion leads to more of the same. Deliberate choices give me the power to change my life.
If we chose to Live on Purpose, we chose to live mindfully and powerfully in each moment.
* The Art of Power, Thich Nhat Hanh, HarperOne 2007
Saturday, January 14, 2012
A Life on Purpose
I ask myself each morning, “What does living on purpose mean to me?” And each morning I find another facet to a life on purpose.
I often feel that my week takes on an intensity of work, responsibility and busyness that needs to be reset on weekends. There is a reset that nature gives that is unlike any other. Being outdoors and moving your body through elements in nature – air, earth, and water, can reset your cells in a way nothing else can. In my part of the world it is cold and windy this January, so I have to bundle up to be outdoors with any comfort. But even bundled, the reset occurs. For me, I have found that any type of outdoor labor that connects me to nature - such as stacking wood for the fire, hauling water for the animals, digging dirt or moving mulch to protect the spring bulbs, trimming tress, shoveling snow, all reset my body in mysterious and powerful ways. If you have children, encourage them to bundle up and go outside to breathe and to play. Take a walk or run or go sledding. Just be outdoors.
When you reset your body and connect to nature in these ways, you can find yourself rejuvenated, your mind cleared and your sense of purpose renewed. You live on planet Earth. Connect to her. When you do, your life and purpose can come into focus.
I often feel that my week takes on an intensity of work, responsibility and busyness that needs to be reset on weekends. There is a reset that nature gives that is unlike any other. Being outdoors and moving your body through elements in nature – air, earth, and water, can reset your cells in a way nothing else can. In my part of the world it is cold and windy this January, so I have to bundle up to be outdoors with any comfort. But even bundled, the reset occurs. For me, I have found that any type of outdoor labor that connects me to nature - such as stacking wood for the fire, hauling water for the animals, digging dirt or moving mulch to protect the spring bulbs, trimming tress, shoveling snow, all reset my body in mysterious and powerful ways. If you have children, encourage them to bundle up and go outside to breathe and to play. Take a walk or run or go sledding. Just be outdoors.
When you reset your body and connect to nature in these ways, you can find yourself rejuvenated, your mind cleared and your sense of purpose renewed. You live on planet Earth. Connect to her. When you do, your life and purpose can come into focus.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Your Handprint, Your Life
The Live on Purpose key is symbolized by a handprint – your handprint, my handprint. My handprint is my unique mark on the world. We must ask ourselves: What is my mark?’ How am I touching the world? How am I touching others?
Handprints are uniquely individual; this lends authenticity to the symbol. Am I being myself? Am I coming from my authentic self? Am I interacting from my soul?
In order to know the answers to these questions, we must be able to go inside of ourselves and listen. Only when we are willing to face and be with our inner self, can we know and present to the world our real purpose.
This is not a once-and-done exercise, but a daily mediation, a daily practice of connecting inside and connecting outside of ourselves. I love how Amit Goswami described it: “do, be, do, be, do.”
Connect inside to know and better connect outside, with others and with life. As we get better at this process, as we learn to Live on Purpose, we shift our consciousness; we shift our lives.
Handprints are uniquely individual; this lends authenticity to the symbol. Am I being myself? Am I coming from my authentic self? Am I interacting from my soul?
In order to know the answers to these questions, we must be able to go inside of ourselves and listen. Only when we are willing to face and be with our inner self, can we know and present to the world our real purpose.
This is not a once-and-done exercise, but a daily mediation, a daily practice of connecting inside and connecting outside of ourselves. I love how Amit Goswami described it: “do, be, do, be, do.”
Connect inside to know and better connect outside, with others and with life. As we get better at this process, as we learn to Live on Purpose, we shift our consciousness; we shift our lives.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
What does 2012 mean?
What does 2012 mean?
I will tell you what 2012 is all about. This is the year we have the most potential to succeed at what we are here to do. This year is both precious and potent, filled with opportunity for change and growth – more than any other moment in history. Individually and collectively, the odds are in our favor and the tipping point is within reach. Many will ignore this opportunity or simply not believe it is real and it is now. And because of that, there is also a chance that we could fail.
What is Living on Purpose?
It is believing that this is your year. Now is the time to do that thing you have always dreamed of doing. Now is the time to be the person you have always dreamed of being. This year you must believe – in yourself, in everyone around you, and in humanity. Don’t put it off another year, or even another month. Begin now. We need you to live on purpose – start by believing in what 2012 is and can be.
I will tell you what 2012 is all about. This is the year we have the most potential to succeed at what we are here to do. This year is both precious and potent, filled with opportunity for change and growth – more than any other moment in history. Individually and collectively, the odds are in our favor and the tipping point is within reach. Many will ignore this opportunity or simply not believe it is real and it is now. And because of that, there is also a chance that we could fail.
What is Living on Purpose?
It is believing that this is your year. Now is the time to do that thing you have always dreamed of doing. Now is the time to be the person you have always dreamed of being. This year you must believe – in yourself, in everyone around you, and in humanity. Don’t put it off another year, or even another month. Begin now. We need you to live on purpose – start by believing in what 2012 is and can be.
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