The Art of Being

I haven’t gone away for several years. I’m in Mexico now, visiting with family. I can feel my self unwinding. I’m sleeping wonderfully. It’s a bit chilly in the morning, delightfully sunny in the afternoons, cool for perfect sleeping in the evenings.

While I continue my meditation and hatha yoga practices, I don’t have much to write. My mind is quiet. Not a lot of thoughts spinning around. Just perched on a garden bench. Quite on the outside. Quiet on the inside.

                                                QUIET ON THE OUTSIDE. QUIET ON THE INSIDE.

New Year's resolutions are commitments we make to our self. While there is some magic to the New Year, being successful with a resolution takes more than midnight magic. To fulfill a resolution we need to challenge our self. We need to take on the job of reworking how we work.

                                                                                 REWORKING HOW WE WORK

Optimism is not fashionable. Cynicism is cool. With cynicism we feel smarter, ahead of the curve. But the optimist has the radical stance, transcending the surface differences that engage the cynic. The optimist sees below the surface turbulence to the stillness underneath. While not denying life's tragedies, the optimist holds onto light when everyone insists there is only darkness.

                                                                      THE OPTIMIST HOLDS ONTO LIGHT

Discipline is about our relationship with our self. It is not about appeasing an external standard or authority. Discipline is the result of being in congruence with our self.

                                                                             DISCIPLINE IS CONGRUENCE WITH SELF

This congruence is destroyed by fear. This fear is left over from our lives as children, when we learned to limit our self to what was acceptable. Love became a reward for obedience. Love lost its status as the assumption of being. We learned to live in conflict with our authentic self.

Perseverance is the most important adjective in my personal profile. Without perseverance I would have stayed stuck in my bad habits and misunderstandings. With perseverance I utilize the lessons that come my way. I go beyond my stuck places to the unknown possibilities awaiting me. What a quality.

                                                                         FALLDOWN FIVE TIMES; GET UP SIX.

Well, it's been more than five days.  After two weeks on my diet, I lost 2.5 pounds and gained 3.  I had a good time gaining the weight, hanging out with friends and celebrating birthdays.  But I'm back at it.  I realized a food plan is fine but not sufficient to deal with my task.  My focus needs to be more on managing cravings.  Time for a new slogan.  As I mentioned, slogans lose their punch and need to be refreshed.  My new slogan is:

                                                                            ONE CRAVING AT A TIME