DEAR READERS: Welcome to 2014! Happy New Year. Isn't it amazing that we have reached this place in time? I always marvel at the notion that with a new year -- as with each new day -- we are given the gift of refreshing our intention on how we are living our lives.
I usually start an intense reflection of my life a few weeks before the New Year so that when this day comes, I feel clear about where I am headed. Whether you had the foresight to think ahead or not, you are here, in 2014. What do you want to be your signature for this year? What mark do you want to make on your life and the lives of those around you as you move into each new day?
These are important questions if you intend to choose to be conscious and intentional in how you live. So many people are so busy that they behave by rote. They get up in the morning, get ready for work, do their jobs, come home, eat/feed the family, watch TV, go to sleep, get up and start over again. Different activities may be sprinkled in, depending upon who you are and what day it is, but for many it is possible to go about your day without really engaging your spirit.
But imagine if you did not take that route. There is a book written many years ago by M. Scott Peck, called "The Road Less Traveled." In it, Peck talks about the choices that people make and how these choices impact their lives. He elaborates on how much more difficult it may seem to examine your life as you are living it, how much more daring it may seem to make a turn into the unknown, even when your heart is urging you to do it, when the known seems so much safer. Yet, if you have the courage to step fully into your own life and listen to the voice inside that is attempting to direct your steps, what kind of a life might you lead?
Gone are the days, for the most part anyway, when people get to do the same job for 50 years and then retire. Stability in terms of economic resources, work and even family life looks different in 2014 than it did some years back. Norms have changed. Expectations have expanded dramatically. Patience is measured differently in this fast food, media consumption world.
And yet, I believe that to find peace and focus in your being, you must take the time to be still and listen to your inner wisdom, and make the decision to follow that wisdom each day. This does not have to feel like hard work, either. By taking 10 minutes to sit and meditate, you may be able to redesign your entire life. When you are crystal clear about how you want to spend your day as you begin it, you will be amazed at how productive you can be. Want to try it? That's my plan.