Commitment is the Key!

A few days ago someone reminded me that we had only 100 days left of 2009. Inspired, I set my priorities for the rest of the year and promptly posted them on my Facebook account. Why? To make them visible, to be accountable, to really commit to them.

What happened? Already in the few days since I posted them, I checked out a new gym (will be joining today), set a new deadline to finish the editing of my first book, and got a potential new freelance job offer. It's almost as if the simple act of writing them down and making them public gives them an energy, a life of their own, wings for those dreams to take off and fly.

Here are two quotes from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way that I love on this topic of commitment and how the Universe responds to it:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way."

—Scottish explorer W.H. Murray

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

—German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The lesson here? "Leap, and the net will appear," as J.C. also says. Really commit to your visions and just watch and see what happens. Look for synchronicities, new opportunities, doors and windows just flying open. And fasten your seatbelt, because you're in for the adventure of your life....

Play Time:
What dreams or goals are you committing to today? If the "C" word scares you, begin by committing to just one thing in one area of your life. Success breeds success, so start small and branch out from there! (and remember to pay attention to what happens in your world when you do!)

What Do You Choose?

Do you ever get hit with the "power of three?" Here's what just happened to me:

1) Yesterday I was hosting the monthly Open Mic at Java Cat, and along with reading some of my own poetry, I read a few others, including an anonymous 19^th century Chippewa poem, translated by Robert Bly, which goes like this:

Sometimes I go about pitying myself
And all the while
I am being carried by great winds across the sky

2) Today a friend posted the following video on the "power of choice"--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T_ZDUOOTnc&feature=player_embedded#t=67

3) Finally, I read a friend's blog post tonight which was about how he has a choice in whether or not to identify himself with his habits and circumstances.

Well, after the THIRD message about choice, I decided that that was to be the topic of today's blog!

The poem, the video, and my friend's blog all reminded me that there is always a choice about what we focus on. There is always more than enough anger, sadness, frustration, jealousy, stress, hopelessness, and despair in our lives and in the world that we can choose to focus on.

However, there is ALSO more than enough happiness, joy, simplicity, love, support, friendship, nature, and abundance everywhere we look, if only we choose to focus on it.

This is not of course to say we should happy all the time. There are definitely times to be otherwise and we should honor them. The key is: we can be aware that we have a choice in what what we're focusing on.

Play Time:
So today I invite you to consider: What are you choosing to focus on in your life right now? Is your glass half-empty or half-full?

The Gold Within

Tonight I saw the new documentary film, "The Shadow Effect." In it, Debbie Ford and a host of other well known teachers and healers discuss the importance of reclaiming and healing our "shadow selves"--those parts of ourselves (good or bad) that we hide from other or even from ourselves.

One story in particular that stood out in my mind was the story of the Golden Buddha. In 1957, a group of Tibetan monks were given the responsibility of moving a large clay Buddha statue because a highway was being built in that area. During the night before it was to be moved, the head monk came to check on the statue, found a large crack in it, and to his surprise, discovered something glittering in the crack. He was so excited he went back to tell his fellow monks. And sure enough, as he and the other chiseled away at the statue, they found under the clay exterior a Buddha statue of pure gold. The Golden Buddha was apparently the responsibility of a group of monks centuries earlier, who hid the Golden Buddha under clay to protect it from an attacking Burmese army. The Buddha was protected but all the monks died in the attack. The statue was only re-discovered in 1957.

The story really hit home. Each of us has gold inside of us that is covered by layers of clay—all the conditioning and messages we received over the years that make us forget our gifts, that special uniqueness we each bring to the world.

Play Time: Today I invite you to consider what gold is still as of yet hidden in you—what unexplored, unrealized potential for greatness, accomplishment, joy, and fulfillment? And what steps can you take to chisel away at those layers of clay so that your true brilliance can emerge and be shared with the world?

To your magnificence!

Jealous or Zealous?

I've been thinking a lot about jealousy lately. So I did what I usually do when I'm fascinated with something: I looked it up in the dictionary. Well, I was surprised to find out that the origins of the word "jealous" actually trace back to the word “zeal.”

What is “zeal?” It’s “fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor;” it’s “intensity, passion, enthusiasm,” and the like.

It got me thinking: What if instead of getting “jealous,” we got “zealous?” What if when we saw something we wanted in someone else, we got passionate about cultivating that in our own lives? What IF we could see jealousy not as an enemy but as a great friend who can help us be, do, and have more of what we want in life?

Over the years, I’ve come across a few sayings about jealousy. One is “Compare and despair” and another is “No use comparing your insides to someone else’s outsides.” Do we really know what’s happening on the inside of that person we’re jealous of? If you knew everything about that person, would you still want what they have?

Let’s remember that it’s an abundant universe and there’s plenty for ALL of us. As Ernest Holmes, the founder of Science of Mind, put it, “Since no two persons are alike there must be a unique place for you in the scheme of things. The Divine Pattern would be imperfect without you.”

Play Time: So today, I dare you to not compare yourself to anyone else, but to be zealously yourself, to love and embrace the unique gifts and talents you bring to the world, to honor your piece of the puzzle of life. What are some ways YOU uniquely contribute to the world around you? I’d love to hear!