Today is Martin Luther King Day. Consider how vitally alive he was while he lived. He did not waste his short but ‘chosen’ life. Have you chosen the life you are living? If not, what is one simple thing you could do to change your life? Or what one thing could you do that would make all other pieces of your life begin to fall into place? What if you could recreate your life?
We all have varying degrees of conviction about the possibility of an afterlife. Belief in a life after death can be comforting to some. I don’t know if there is something after this life, but one thing I am pretty certain about is that there will never be THIS life ever again. This particular life, that we each are living right now, is a unique one time ever event. If we do not really take this to heart, do not value this astounding opportunity, we will miss being fully alive in our lives. And we will continue to live the life we have always lived. Nothing will really change.
If we want something different, if we want to thrive instead of just survive, we are going to have to wake ourselves up, turn off our autopilot, and “do ourselves” differently. If you do want change in your life, stop all the busy-ness you are creating in order not to notice how you feel, and then make an assessment of what your life is. Is your life a life of your own choosing? Are you living your life based on your parents’ expectations? Are you living a life in reaction to your parents? Have you made some covert agreement to live your life to satisfy your partner’s needs?
If you are not living your own life, are you uncomfortable enough to let go of whatever you are holding onto that does not serve your health and happiness any more? Are you hiding in the safe ‘known’, which keeps you from experiencing, feeling, and getting the most out of your life? Sometimes the familiarity of unhappiness can be more comforting than the unfamiliarity of what we don’t know. Are you too afraid of rocking the boat—or perhaps of saving the boat—to get couples counseling?
The one thing you can do to change your life is to remind yourself every day, that this is the only day I will ever experience THIS day…. January 16, 2012…or whatever the day is. And ask yourself, “Am I living the life I want to live?” How alive do I feel today? Am I thriving or just surviving?
As the soothsayer says…”the end IS near.” Or at least we will get to the end much sooner than we can imagine. And if we are sleepwalking through our lives, we will get to the end and feel our life was a blur.
If you cannot perceive or keep in daily touch with the profundity of the miracle of being alive, you might consider attending one of our Live Conscious Retreats. During the retreat we will help you get in touch with what you feel, what you value, and what you want your life to look like, and how to make changes in your life with integrity. And you will find in yourself what you have been too busy all your life to even notice.
If you want to change your life, it is time to take action. Begin to create a life you love by being conscious every day of what your life is. Consciously and creatively choose what your life is going to be. Some say action follows creativity, but more potently, I think creativity follows action.
Hannah shared with me her practice of saying what day it is every morning when she wakes. She says the day of the week and the date—”Monday, January 16th, 2012″—and I’ve started doing this in the past few days. I acknowledge that it’s making a difference. I feel more aware, more awake, more present. A simple practice, but surprisingly useful.
Dear Hannah , I soften myself and am touching my heart finding my truth in your lines …. I am dancing the dance between sometimes scaring unknowing and exciting freshness of every new day without agenda nor plan ….. I feel balance is my keyword …..
I inspire myself deeply with this short and in me profound video along your lines :
http://www.gratefulness.org/brotherdavid/a-good-day.htm
with love and care today – January 17th – 2012 – the only day of this date there will EVER BE …