Happy “No-Fail” Friday! I hope it’s been a great week for you, and that you’ve been able to find the time here and there for some stillness, to find your breath, and reconnect with your personal path for the week, or the day, or maybe just that minute. If not, this weekend’s mindfulness challenge has you covered. Our conversation this week was about that path, and managing those moments when you think you know exactly where you’re headed, until you meet someone who seems to be headed somewhere else. It was about that moment of “Uh oh, wait…maybe I need to be doing that instead…?” and the ensuing uncertainty (and maybe panic) that follows. It’s a totally normal reaction, but it’s what you do next that makes all the difference.
Mindfulness isn’t about not having that moment, it’s about recognizing that moment when it happens. It’s about observing it without following it, or bashing yourself for having it. You’re human, and you have tough choices to make. You’d have to be a robot if meeting someone who chose A when you chose B didn’t lead to at least a flicker of doubt. (Even a robot would have to at least recalculate.) But when it happens, you find your breath. You connect to the present moment, instead of rehashing your decision or obsessing about potential future choices. You made that choice for a reason – maybe a lot of good reasons. You’re on a path created by you, for you. No one else’s path will do.
This weekend, your challenge is to reconnect with your inner compass – or to give it your best shot, anyway. This is a “no-fail” challenge, as you know, so you can’ve got nothing to lose. If you’re perplexed, not to worry. You’re simply looking for stillness. Seek quiet, away from both the distractions you love and those that you don’t. Give yourself space to just be, without any attachments or expectations. You might try a meditation (see the bottom of the page for some good recorded ones!), or a walk, or another activity that feels like “you.” That’s the key here, because this one is all about you. You can’t go wrong.
There’s a powerful quote, often attributed to Malcolm X, that “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” This weekend is about standing for yourself, not selfishly but in appreciation for everything that has brought you to where you are right now, and everything you will do going forward. You don’t need anyone else’s path. Yours is wide open, and it’s waiting for you.
“There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.” – Rumi (again!)
Photo credit: Blake Moulton
