Focus on Life

So, now we have a focus! LIFE

Isn’t it funny how often we think to ourselves, this is our life, yet, it’s not the one we’ve wanted, dreamed of or envisioned for ourselves. But, here we are spending day in and day out – doing things we don’t always like ‘doing’ or ‘being’ in places when we wish we were doing something or being someplace else. 

And then there’s the biggest one – being around people who either do not appreciate us, understand us, like us or who are down right harmful to us - (read toxic to be around). If you are anything like me, you end up soaking up all those negative vibes (absorb!) – taking on board nearly everything, in an effort to make people happy and feel better. 

And such is life. Or is it? 

If this is life, then I don’t want to have anything to do with it. Which is exactly what I figured out a long time ago and have endeavoured to live ever since. The place I was in, timing, people, food, things, the work I was doing and so on, was all wrong for me! 

I did learn things everywhere I went, and I tried to make the most of what I had, where I was and deal with things as they arrived. I always wanted to be positive about ‘things’….but there came a time, when I had to wake up and make decisions about what I wanted and about what was 'healthy'.

Somewhere deep inside of me…..I always knew it wasn’t my life I was living but a mere shadow of something constructed from the thoughts of others around me. I could do so much better if I was creating it myself! 

Of course, I then realized I needed to get out of the situations I found myself in and get focused on the ‘real’ life that I was seeking. And that is an on-going project……Life on the inside and the outside needs to be a mirror and a focus when on the spiritual path.

April

Little lamb......

Motivation for the Day Ahead

I've been hearing a lot about motivation these past few weeks....and indeed this summer in West Cork has been tough! It's rained nearly non-stop, been a few degrees colder than usual and we've all been feeling vitamin D deficient - a bit more than we normally are (LOL!).

Each morning I wake up and wonder about the day ahead.....what I've realised lately is that I am looking for the 'motivation' to get up, get moving and get going. Of course, having a plan helps, so does having a routine, a schedule as well as something to look forward to each day (a little sunshine doesn't hurt either).

For me it has been absolutely essential to have these things in place, or else I seem to lose myself in the doing rather than being. I like discipline and the energy shifts that occur when we allow an unfolding as well as structure to interact with each other.

So....what exactly is motivation and why do we need it? Well, when I look it up, it means a reason or a motive for acting. However, when I look a bit deeper, the words emotion and motivation actually derive from the same place - a Latin word meaning 'to move'. 

This is quite interesting for me this summer in particular - just when I find little to motivate me on the outside (a shortage of sunny days and unable to be in the garden as much as I'd like), I must find my motivation from something inherent inside of me. And perhaps that is emotion - or as I like to call it.....

Passion.

Discovering many of the things we are passionate about, allowing them to develop and grow deep roots in our lives, will provide some of the motivation (emotion) necessary to get us out of bed in them morning and hopefully a whole lot more.

My lesson for this week.....don't push those emotions down - work with them, understand them and allow an open heart to lead us forward into the deeper corridors of feeling. That's where passion resides - and we can't get there without 'feeling'. 

Those feelings will then motivate us to align with our true natures. Onwards!