Intentional Living

People speak of International Living, but few speak of intentional living. That is to live each moment full of intention. In more pragmatic terms, it means to act without a ticker tape of "must dos, should haves, or if I only..." playing over the moment. It seems insane but most of us are rarely present in anything we are doing.

Having your body occupy a chair at dinner doesn't mean that you are showing up. Showing up takes courage, discipline and above all lack of regard for others opinions. After all that is none of our business.

Intentional Living is at it's core designed to bring pleasure, passion and joy and who doesn't want that?

Beyond logic getting to your creative side

Imagine a business meeting that went something like this: "I'd like to make shoes using the waffle iron." Response "Kid that's not how shoes are made."

If Phil Knight stopped there an entire chunk of modern culture would be missing. Nike transcends sports and embodies purposeful living. The brand itself is evidence that limits can and will be broken.

Beyond the logical use of anything is innovation. Residing in the middle is conviction, courage and confidence.

These are the three C's to success. It's up to your to draw your map.

Go back to the beginning and you will find your answer.

Everything we long for in life is pointed in one direction: get me back to perfect. The perfect in our old brain is the memory of the womb. In short we long for life to be: warm, where our needs are meet (all of them), soothed by the noises around us and peaceful. Yes in our adult lives a few other adjectives creep into our deepest desires among them creativity, passionate and connect are high on a lot of folks lists.

So why go back to the beginning? It is within the core of our begin our two year old self that can express what we want. Not convinced next time your grocery shopping pay attention even if only for a few minutes a 2 year old. Chance are you will hear things like: "I want that!" "I see Dora over there." "I see a triangle!" "What is that? Why don't we get it?" "NO." "I don't want to sit down, buckle up, be here, etc."

Reconnecting with this seemingly uncontrollable voice is our best navigator. All of us know what we need, but like layers of an onion our core is deep inside painful stingy layers.

Not so perfect is pretty good.

During the week leading up to my wedding the word I over used with nauseating enthusiasm was "perfect." I'd said it so many dam times that my sisters, all three, began to tease me. Hadn't I wanted all this fuss, stress & attention?

If I remember correctly I'd actually asked for it. I wanted to be married for surely in marriage I would be on the map. Before I even knew who Dora was I had the same hunch that if I was lost I would only need to find the map and get on the path. Knowing what my life purpose was could wait as long as I was married.

So how's that working out for me? Boys & girls marriage is a bit tougher than holding a registry gun to plate tricking yourself into believing you'd be thrilled to have it. Being married does not mean that your transfer ownership of your deed to happiness. No that is yours for life.

The secret is that it is our thoughts that trip us up not our situation.

So my advice: ditch your expectations - everywhere you find them. No your partner should not know your thoughts, because the truth is they don't & really they can't know them. Chances are you don't always know what you want - tell me where I'm wrong. And your kids well they want your attention. No matter how old we get we still want our parents attention even for a few minutes or a cup of coffee. And life is full of bills, social commitments but you choose what they mean to you and how they effect you.

Perfect is the power of thought. If you are unhappy, stuck or grumpy find the thought.

How do you want to feel?

What would you need to think in order to create this feeling?

Radical I know, but you might just find yourself a bit closer to a messy situation called life with an added zest of joy!

When nothing works do nothing.

This week has been by far one of the more challenging in my parenthood.

After four days of on again off again fevers and a terrible scare Wednesday night of high fever and vomiting the diagnosis is: double ear infection. It seems that my motherhood is never perfect.

To top it off our daughter is inconsolable when awake: rub my hair, no stop that. My tummy hurts, don't rub it. Snuggle me, give me space. Thankfully I've been left confident that we know our opposites.

So here is my sane piece of gratitude: patience is a virtue. Thank you to all those in my life who have shown and continue to show me patience.

The shit chronicles continue...

Day four of our new home the sewer backs up. I will kindly spare you the juicy details. I will, however, dive into the obvious.

I believe that life is full of messages or signs. The key is to listen. Apparently I did not head the previous lesson. So like a good zen student I cleaned the bathroom three times yesterday before & after it was snaked, wax-on/wax-off style open to receiving the message. It was clear get rid of the shit in your life.

Appropriate since we've only just unpacked in our 10th living space. Our original count was off. Pat & I have had ten living rooms, bedrooms, etc in our years together. Some spaces have been more challenging than others, but the physical space we occupy is nothing compared with the inner dialogues we live with and cart around.

Assuring that our inner living room is as clutter free and yes, shitless is imperative.

So my challenge in this revolutionary shit removal is this:
Find one item daily that no longer serves me or my family and give it a better home.