THE USUAL

When was the last time

your body,

your spirit,

your intuition,

was telling you to

stop

or

start

something,

but you disregarded

and did the usual.

 

Maybe it was to

stop

all the

anger

bottled up inside

or

start

getting more rest,

but

as usual,

you just stuffed it down

and

told yourself rest was for those

who didn’t know how to hustle

 

Maybe it was to tell someone,

“I love you.”

or

ask someone,

“Are you ok?”,

but,

as usual,

you thought,

“I don’t need to tell them, they already know.”

and

“Do I really want to know the answer?”

 

Maybe it was to

stop,

just

stop

for a while,

but,

as usual,

you worried that you would never

get started again.

 

 

Maybe it was to

start

listening to

your body,

your spirit,

your intuition,

but,

as usual,

you disregarded.

 

Today, don’t have the usual.

CREATING SPACES

The people around you

want to be heard,

want to contribute

want to serve.

 

When you create spaces

where this can occur,

everyone gets better

and the mission is served.

 

But there will be times,

after everyone has had their say,

you will need to choose a different way.

 

And if you have created a culture of

trust

and

respect,

you won’t worry about

what happens

next. 

WHEN IT’S WORK NO LONGER

On the day you go to your job

and realize it is no longer

“Work”,

when there is

meaning

and

purpose,

a mission to be served.

 

On that day,

when it seems you’ve found your muse,

savor it,

enjoy it,

for it seems easy to lose.

 

Soon there will come other days,

when you will realize

the most meaningful work

is even more

challenging

and

difficult.

SEEKING THE UNUSUAL

Is it an unusual thing

seeking

to care

and

to matter?

 

Most others

work

only to

make it through.  

 

When you want to contribute

something different,

something better,

you may feel the whole world is

working against you.

 

Even the advice you receive

from family and friends

can make you wonder

whether your

hopes,

dreams,

desires

are

just your delusion.

 

So maybe it is unusual

seeking

to dream

and

to dare,

but just look around,

there is a whole world

that needs

you

to care. 

MEASURING LIFE

When you encounter those

who seem to know who they are,

who don’t measure life

by the size of their house

or the emblem on their car.

 

Take note,

pay attention,

for you may see

someone who shows you

a new way to be.  

For those who measure life

not in things,

live their life without so many strings.

 

They free themselves

to matter and to care,

which also frees them,

to love and to dare.

 

And if this is someone you want to be,

today is a good day to get started,

wouldn’t you agree? 

OBJECTS ARE SMALLER THAN THEY APPEAR

“Objects in mirror are larger than they appear.”

 

When designing a car, it seems a good idea

to help drivers see more clearly

what is behind and beside them.

So we make the mirror convex to take in a larger view

and remind them that the reflection isn’t reality.

 

When driving

our life,

our dream,

our cause,

we often do the opposite,

allowing what is behind us

to loom larger than what is real,

paralyzing us from making the next move.

 

We focus attention on our

failures,

shame,

regrets,

or

guilt

inflating their importance

which keeps us looking backwards.

 

Maybe we should imprint our memories with the reminder,

“Objects are smaller than they appear.”

HABIT FORMING

From how many times you hit the snooze button,

to the way you lay down in bed;

from the side of your mouth you begin to brush your teeth on,

to the side of the bed you sleep on;

from the story you tell yourself upon waking

to the feelings you have when your boss is talking;

all habits.

 

Our brain loves habits.

Habits take less thinking,

so they take less calories.

 

And the brain loves to conserve calories.

 

The brain will do anything to avoid

pain

and seek

pleasure and comfort.

This is why habits are difficult to break,

especially the “bad” ones.

The bad ones feed our comfort.

Like the proverbial quart of ice cream after a breakup,

the binge drinking after a fight,

they aren’t good for us,

but they feel good in the moment.   

 

And so we continue in our habits,

believing we have little power to change.

 

We forget.

The habits we have now,

the ones not serving our best self

are not inviolable.  

We created them.

We

formed,

shaped,

made

them.

 

We can re-create them.

 

Today is a great day to get honest with yourself.

 

Write down all your daily habits, rituals, routines.

 

Celebrate everything that is good.  

Be grateful.

 

Identify which habits aren’t serving to make you

better,

stronger,

more resilient,

more whatever it is you want to become.

 

Pick one. (only one!)

 

Shift one small step.

(Warning:  it won’t be easy. Calories, remember.)

 

But a small shift made

Every. Single. Day.

will

break it,

replace it,

recreate it.

 

Re-form your habits,

re-form your life.

LEAKY FAUCET

More than likely,

there is a leaky faucet

in your life.

 

Maybe it’s at

the relationship sink,

or the health bathtub,

or the work shower.  

 

Drip. Drip. Drip.

 

Each drop telling you to

pay attention,

find the cause,

fix the issue.

 

You think,

“It’s not that bad.  

Besides, plumbers are expensive.”

 

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

 

In the beginning,

it’s not that bothersome.

 

The drips are spaced far apart.

 

As time goes by,

they fall closer together,

faster,

and you notice it less,

actually.

But soon,

just like that faucet in your real sink,

the water bill is coming due,

and it’s going to have a surprise for you.  

 

Maybe right now

is

a good time

to call a plumber.