Inspirational Quote

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-- Howard Thurman

I love this quote because so often, when we wonder what to do with ourselves, there are so many competing interests. There's what we think the world needs. There's what we think will make us enough money to survive happily. And then there's that thing that somewhere deep down in the dark depths of ourselves we know we really, really want to do. Howard Thurman manages to reconcile at least two of the competing interests--what the world needs, and what we ourselves really want to do. I guess how to make money will be for another post. *smile*

New Year, New Look, New Perspective...

It's been a long, long while since I've blogged. I won't bore you with the why's of that. I'll just jump right back in. And what better post to reenter with than one on New Year's resolutions?

I’ve always got a list of resolutions I want to accomplish in any given year, but this year, I’m focusing on just one: Stop Rushing. Though this is just one resolution, it comprises a few different parts:

1- If I’m already late, I need to just calm down and be OK with it. No fuming in the car. No pushing past “slow” pedestrians who are “in my way.” Just breathe, and resolve to leave earlier next time.

2- Not trying to fit so many things into a given time slot. For example, if I find I have five extra minutes in the morning before I have to leave to catch my train, I’ll think to myself, “Wow, that means I can start a load of laundry, make coffee, , and polish my shoes that I now notice are scuffed.” Then, suddenly, instead of being five minutes early, I’m fifteen minutes late.

3- Not try to fit so many things into my day/life. The examples I gave in number two? Imagine it on a larger scale as I try to plan out my day, my week, my life....

4- And most importantly of all, stay in the moment of whatever it is I am doing. I’m a planner, there’s no doubt about that, and there’s no use trying to change it, either. So I need to make a plan in the morning or at the beginning of the week of that day’s/week’s main goals, and then when I’m doing whatever I’m doing—be it laundry, work, walking Chloe, or relaxing, I need to actually be doing those things, instead of focusing on what I have to do next. But I can only do that if I've completed the first three steps of this plan. Because if I'm rushing around, forgetting to make time to go to the bathroom, there's no way I can find the presence of mind to be in the moment. None.

**OK, it's been a while since the new year started, and I haven't managed to banish rushing from the get go. I'll admit, I've found myself running for the train once or twice. But, as they say to any addict trying to give up her poison of choice, try, try again...