If you followed me here from my old blog, you may recognize today’s theme. Every ORDER week I am brought back to the fact that I do not, have not actually created my life. What I mean by this is I have made a habit of letting life come at me. I am easy going, quick on my feet and generally keep a positive outlook so things usually turn out fine. Heck, I would even say a majority of things turn out great.
So what could be the problem you ask?
It is just that my soul yearns for something more.
Nothing is actually wrong with living my life in this fashion. I’ll wager a guess that most of us do, but those who live boldly and make the biggest difference (something I do aspire to do) do not leave their living to chance. These people fill their days with the specific details that have their lives unfold the way we see them. A mountain climber doesn’t wake up one day and tackle Mt. Everest. Years and years of daily training filled their calendar until the moment of that final victorious step. Occasionally we may see the story of that trip up the mountain but rarely does it include the hours of painstaking planning. Every ounce of food that will be carried, clothing and supplies for every weather contingency and even exit strategies should things not go right are planned down to the tiniest detail.
We see people like Oprah in twenty minute sound bites: building schools for girls in Africa; educating us about autism; laughing with the latest teen sensation; or sharing her latest favorite read. What we don’t see are the moments upon moments of VERY deliberate events and meetings that lead up to these things. She and her entire staff do not “go with the flow” and “hope for the best” when it comes to what they are working on.
Now I am not intending to climb Everest or ever host a television show but my life is no more or less worthy of conscious living. My soul yearns, to put it in Oprah’s terms, “Live it’s best Life” and going with the flow just doesn’t get me there. I have deluded myself into thinking that some how, after I do what is routinely required, I will find the time. I expect that my daughter and husband will suddenly need me less and I will, between laundry and family outings find what is needed to move forward on all my hopeful projects. For nearly five years I have been engaging in this kind of magical thinking that assumes wishing and wanting actually make a difference. It does not.
What does make a difference is actually allotting the time required in ones calendar. I have taken dozens of personal development programs over the years and routinely discover hundreds of interesting things I would love to explore and spend my time doing. Things like meditation, organic gardening & worm bins for composting, family fitness, school boards, romantic dining, and internet based businesses top the list currently, but the TIME, those actual moments in time on my calendar do not appear. Without this step all these things remain “nice ideas” and I will never actually do them.
I’m not sure why I have avoided this simple fact for so long. Perhaps pretending I was getting to these things “someday” placated my soul enough. I enjoy a good surprise, so the wondering fascinated even though it never satisfied. Using you, dear blog reader, as the impetus for my follow through since I would not want to disappoint, I am calling an end to this today!
Today my calendar and I are going to get acquainted. I have 24 hours like any mountain climber does and in exactly the same way I can begin to create my life. I am no longer leaving my life to chance! My soul is calling! Is yours?
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How acquainted are you with your calendar?
In tomorrow’s post (updated 4/7/11) I am going to give you the nitty gritty of how I plan to proceed. I will be getting clear about where my time is really spent now and looking to see what can be added or removed so I can fill my life with the essential components that lead me to where I want to be. Wishing and hoping will be replaced with creativity and design. My soul is already giddy with anticipation…
I do hope you will join me!
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On Saturday we will be “Speaking about Order.” I will be collecting and inviting YOU to share, new and old posts about spring cleaning, time management and all things orderly! So please stop by and link up your favorites!
It looks like my friend Lisa over at LifeUnity is already playing!
I can’t wait to see how this all plays out. I am excited for you. Even carving out 20 minutes in the day to work on, say meditation, will do wonders for your soul! With two young kids sometimes I only get 5 mins for breathing /meditation, but other days I manage to squeak in an 1.5 hr yoga practice at home! I never know which I will get. I always feel more calm and centered and energized afterwards, no matter the time allotment. The point is, just commit and do it. Making the effort is the hard part. Good luck to you!
Amen sister!