Have you ever woke up one day and realized that the person you have sitting in your head is not the one living in your body? I have just recently. It actually started when I was invited to join some friends from work for a 1/2 marathon in April. Being a groomed athlete since a ripe age of 9 years old, I always have considered myself that, and yet something happened along the way. I put priorities on other areas of my life, looking at this chapter as place I will get back to someday. When I have more time was the excuse. When this came up, my first response in my head was, maybe someday, but not now. Then I woke up and said yes. Shortly thereafter, I received a source of inspiration; a subtle reminder of my old ways... and bam! All of a sudden I have plenty of time to train for this event.
The morale of this story is two fold.
One, as adults we get stuck in our heads. Our stories, our self reflections in our minds often do not balance with our outside physical nature because we lose consciousness to that part of the world. We just either do not put enough time in that department or we just tell ourselves it is not necessary, or the millions of other excuses that may come up along the way. Unfortunately, for many it takes a life-threatening circumstance to bring ourselves back into the physical plane. For the rest of us it takes a wave of opportunity and a willingness to accept it to bring us back. The key is maintaining an open door for such things to happen. Setting time aside for physical action whether it is for exercise or crafts of some kind is not a luxury, it is a necessity. It defines who we are in our heads. If we live what we think and think what we live, neither side of the metaphysical body has to work as hard to maintain. By doing so, we also acquire the balance necessary to live more freely. That relieves more time for my living.
The second part is that related to time. I find it so fascinating that when an action comes from a place of inspiration, there is always time. On the flip side, coming from a source of inspiration often means that the actions take less time to accomplish. When actions come from the heart as it does with inspiration, the results are compounded so many times over. It's as if we just put a new high efficiency fuel in our cars and started driving versus the bottom of the barrel quality. We get more miles out of the high efficiency fuel; not to mention its better and safer on the engines allowing for a longer lasting vehicles.
What areas have you awakened to lately?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, November 7, 2008
Time continued.......
So it appears that time has gotten away from me! Seriously, this study has kept my interest with or without the blogs. This summer I took a sabbitical. This was a chance for me and my family to just let go of the expectations we had around time and just go with what we felt. OK I have to admit my husband does this anyhow. It was me. I decided to let go of things in my life that I felt "took" up my time or "wasted" time. This included the computer. It was glorious! The big underlying piece was the greatest secret that we all know especially as mothers and even as working mothers, but we dont bring this vital piece of logic to our lives. I granted myself to let go of the expectations and more importantly the beliefs that encompassed my life like a barb wired fence.
To grant oneself the ability to let something go not by desparation but by intentional and conscious choice is such a liberating act of kindness and acceptance of ourselves. It truly is the greatest gift that one can give to his or herself. We know our own barb wired fences in the form of the "shoulds" the "got to's" the "cant go to bed without doings" and the "I have to or else's". When these phrases come up the consequence is usually de-motivation, anxiety, fatigue, and resentment....not to mention the next day hang over of feeling like the time just got smaller, that there is no time for alone time, and possibly, if the needs get bad enough, a transfer of feelings onto the kids and husband.....all because in our own belief systems we decided that this is how we are supposed to live; if we don't we may falter on the super-human contribution scale. Wow! How many times do each one of us need to read a related article on this very same thing and still have to learn this the hard way?
My epiphany came when I realized that the house still is in tack, the kids are ok and I didnt melt from not accomplishing as much as my to do list intended. My consequence was more time with my kids and husband, a chance to spend time with friends, enjoy my deck, and find time to workout for endurance and high impact athletics while not changing a thing about my work schedule or my family schedule. So my challenge to all of you who want the same and yet get overwhelmed with the idea of another committment......dont commit......in fact un-committment and make these daily simple choices.
1. What is the one thing that you are going to let go of today.
2. What is the number one thing on the list for yourself today? (Mine bounces back and forth between sleep and working out or my yoga practice or bath or reading). Remember, taking care of yourself first allows you to take care of others.
3. Say this affirmation daily: "there is always time"
4. Breathe....in the car....rushing to dance practice.....while the sibling is crying because... well for no good reason......and let it go with each exhalation all the while you hear the relaxing sounds of kids bop in the back ground. :o)
So it appears that time has gotten away from me! Seriously, this study has kept my interest with or without the blogs. This summer I took a sabbitical. This was a chance for me and my family to just let go of the expectations we had around time and just go with what we felt. OK I have to admit my husband does this anyhow. It was me. I decided to let go of things in my life that I felt "took" up my time or "wasted" time. This included the computer. It was glorious! The big underlying piece was the greatest secret that we all know especially as mothers and even as working mothers, but we dont bring this vital piece of logic to our lives. I granted myself to let go of the expectations and more importantly the beliefs that encompassed my life like a barb wired fence.
To grant oneself the ability to let something go not by desparation but by intentional and conscious choice is such a liberating act of kindness and acceptance of ourselves. It truly is the greatest gift that one can give to his or herself. We know our own barb wired fences in the form of the "shoulds" the "got to's" the "cant go to bed without doings" and the "I have to or else's". When these phrases come up the consequence is usually de-motivation, anxiety, fatigue, and resentment....not to mention the next day hang over of feeling like the time just got smaller, that there is no time for alone time, and possibly, if the needs get bad enough, a transfer of feelings onto the kids and husband.....all because in our own belief systems we decided that this is how we are supposed to live; if we don't we may falter on the super-human contribution scale. Wow! How many times do each one of us need to read a related article on this very same thing and still have to learn this the hard way?
My epiphany came when I realized that the house still is in tack, the kids are ok and I didnt melt from not accomplishing as much as my to do list intended. My consequence was more time with my kids and husband, a chance to spend time with friends, enjoy my deck, and find time to workout for endurance and high impact athletics while not changing a thing about my work schedule or my family schedule. So my challenge to all of you who want the same and yet get overwhelmed with the idea of another committment......dont commit......in fact un-committment and make these daily simple choices.
1. What is the one thing that you are going to let go of today.
2. What is the number one thing on the list for yourself today? (Mine bounces back and forth between sleep and working out or my yoga practice or bath or reading). Remember, taking care of yourself first allows you to take care of others.
3. Say this affirmation daily: "there is always time"
4. Breathe....in the car....rushing to dance practice.....while the sibling is crying because... well for no good reason......and let it go with each exhalation all the while you hear the relaxing sounds of kids bop in the back ground. :o)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Time for priorities
I am developing a theory;
Time in the linear sense--I mean in terms of our everyday lives and our calendars-- and the conflicts with it is really a test of priorities. We could go even further to say that it is a test of intention as well. Over 2 years ago I started on this quest to solve my time issues. How I was going to solve these issues was in the same sense as trying to learn how to fly to China in an hour (figure of speech and I live in the US...get what I'm saying?) So my life continued to get tighter and on the calendar and I continued to expect myself to do everything perfectly and in a time frame that cramped my perfectionistic style even more. Well, I'm here to tell you that this method is not working for me; nor does it seem to work for everyone else that is trying to do the same thing. Now comes the solution (be forewarned that this a work in progress and takes some skill for those of us who are not natural at it) take priority (set intention), let go, and surrender to the pose (life) while maintaining the pose (life) with all of its current imperfections and realize that anything else dropped on the wayside may not need to get picked back up.
So what happens for those of us that are claiming equal priorities in all areas of life? First we as humans at a very physical sense are meant to only do one thing at one time so having things of equal priority in life in the raw sense may not be possible, nor can we truly be multitaskers no matter how good we are at taking out the trash while washing the dishes and feeding the kids and making doctor appointments (believe me if there was a possibility of mutlitasking I've tried it) all at the same time. The end result often times makes the day look like we were getting alot of things accomplished and in reality the tasks left us possibly unfinished in anyone or all areas and tired. Bottom line, our heads may have us believing that life tasks can have equal priority and in reality it is not possible.
Another way at looking at this is from the business planning and project management perspectives. Plans/projects are based on 3 factors; time, physical resources, and money. If we define 2 of these factors, then the final factor must be the variable to balance the plan or else, guess what...it fails. For those of us who tend to want to define all three factors, its no wonder that we continue to run the hamster wheel and not get anywhere.
May we all take this moment to define our priorities, accept and surrender in our poses (lives)
Time in the linear sense--I mean in terms of our everyday lives and our calendars-- and the conflicts with it is really a test of priorities. We could go even further to say that it is a test of intention as well. Over 2 years ago I started on this quest to solve my time issues. How I was going to solve these issues was in the same sense as trying to learn how to fly to China in an hour (figure of speech and I live in the US...get what I'm saying?) So my life continued to get tighter and on the calendar and I continued to expect myself to do everything perfectly and in a time frame that cramped my perfectionistic style even more. Well, I'm here to tell you that this method is not working for me; nor does it seem to work for everyone else that is trying to do the same thing. Now comes the solution (be forewarned that this a work in progress and takes some skill for those of us who are not natural at it) take priority (set intention), let go, and surrender to the pose (life) while maintaining the pose (life) with all of its current imperfections and realize that anything else dropped on the wayside may not need to get picked back up.
So what happens for those of us that are claiming equal priorities in all areas of life? First we as humans at a very physical sense are meant to only do one thing at one time so having things of equal priority in life in the raw sense may not be possible, nor can we truly be multitaskers no matter how good we are at taking out the trash while washing the dishes and feeding the kids and making doctor appointments (believe me if there was a possibility of mutlitasking I've tried it) all at the same time. The end result often times makes the day look like we were getting alot of things accomplished and in reality the tasks left us possibly unfinished in anyone or all areas and tired. Bottom line, our heads may have us believing that life tasks can have equal priority and in reality it is not possible.
Another way at looking at this is from the business planning and project management perspectives. Plans/projects are based on 3 factors; time, physical resources, and money. If we define 2 of these factors, then the final factor must be the variable to balance the plan or else, guess what...it fails. For those of us who tend to want to define all three factors, its no wonder that we continue to run the hamster wheel and not get anywhere.
May we all take this moment to define our priorities, accept and surrender in our poses (lives)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Coffee and life:
Ok I just receivd ths from a friend and it has such a great messge to share. And its around coffee!
A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general. . . Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee. When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering... ''You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems." He continued . . .''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups . . . Then you began eyeing each other's cups . . .'' ''Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has provided us. . . God brews the coffee, but he does not supply the cups. Enjoy your coffee!'' The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have. . . So please remember: Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God! And remember - The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.
Ok I just receivd ths from a friend and it has such a great messge to share. And its around coffee!
A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general. . . Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee. When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering... ''You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems." He continued . . .''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups . . . Then you began eyeing each other's cups . . .'' ''Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has provided us. . . God brews the coffee, but he does not supply the cups. Enjoy your coffee!'' The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have. . . So please remember: Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God! And remember - The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.
Hello!! I am a working mother of 2 and married to my best friend of 15 years. (we have been married for 12). A yogini in heart and in soul who traces around in human form with high heels, every accessory to match, and drinking a Starbucks fully loaded. I have a love for experience of all things and have a need to be involved. Needless to say I am on an action plan to slow down....more importantly to prioritize my life. I desire a life of purity while still supporting matching yoga attire and yoga bags to boot. Most importantly, its the time thing. Time has been my excuse for why I do not live the life I desire. So here it is; my first action project. Time. Time to do my daily practice. Time to make healthy meals. Time to get up in the morning to snuggle with my family before going off to work, school, etc. stay tuned for my progress......
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