Reflection

A new lens

I find myself experiencing the world anew since I’ve started writing regularly. My pace has changed; it’s not less productive, just less harried. I notice more details in my surroundings and think of how I would describe wherever I happen to be. I’m more observant not only of sights and sounds, but also smells, tastes and feelings. I study people and their behaviors to a greater extent, the social norms in different settings, and I’ve noticed how very much alike we all are. One could say I’m living every moment. Part of me wonders if I was previously walking around in a fog, so busy and in my own head. Worried about to-do lists or where I’m going next, rather than where I am at that moment. What have I missed??

Intention

If one thing is for sure, I cannot be a writer if I don’t actually write. The spreadsheet I’ve created for my writing log is populated with more zeros over the last couple of weeks than I care to see. So I’m focused more than ever on my intentions – why I want to do this, what is important to me, where I choose to spend my time. Merriam-Webster defines intent as “the thing that you plan to do or achieve – an aim or purpose.” For all of my adult life, I have been driven by something that I want to achieve. Sure, there have been times when someone else has set the goal for me or it’s a job I am being paid to do, but for the tasks I finish with an extra push and for the achievements I’m most proud of, the motivation comes from within. The intent is my own.

Meditation

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

by Nastran

Why do we pause in our lives for reflection when someone has died, or when we’ve reached some milestone like a birthday or certain number of years of something? Why are we not present with each other, with our children, with our family and friends every day? I am as guilty of this as anyone, caught up in work or on my phone or scanning social media… I’m watching my own kids transform before my eyes and find myself making new life decisions, wishing I could retrieve what I might have missed.

Therapy

The cure for everything is salt water; sweat, tears or the sea.
Isak Dinesen

by Nastran

Wisdom

Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln