I’m sitting here on a rocking chair in Lake Tahoe looking out onto the water…enjoying the sun and the fantastic wind we have here today. The smell of the trees reminds me of fishing far too much. In fact, if the wind dies down tomorrow, I hope I can whip out the fly fishing gear and get onto the water. My paradise is in the woods.
There are these little tiny moments that flicker in your soul that if you feed them…they will begging to burn hot and bright. This morning, after waking up and looking directly out into the trees, I had one of those moments. For a little while, I had been focusing on things that truly didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I was taught a while ago that if we have complaints, we get something from them. The only way to rid ourselves from those complaints is to get into action and create a plan. Then, they will disappear.
I want to copy and paste something here that I just read that I feel is very true. I feel like it hits the nail right on the head…and it is definitely something that I have been searching for over the past couple of years. I am, currently attempting, to connect my mind, body, and soul in a life that yields to many people compartmentalizing those important pieces. When you fit them all together, you get a full person. Here is the piece.
We’ve become experts in breaking things down and pulling things apart. Sometimes it’s for good reason, but so many of us get lost in the pieces that we forget to see the whole.
So like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle scattered on the floor, we have isolated or disconnected pieces of mass information but no grand perspective on why these pieces matter—or as often is the case—why they really aren’t asimportant as we are led to believe. We unintentionally divorce living from those things that most give us life and make life meaningful.
T.S. Eliot said it this way: “Where is the life lost in living, the wisdom lost in knowledge, the knowledge in information?”
The result? We get weighed down with clutter and confusion and life becomes “busy.” And, worst of all, we lose belief in something bigger than ourselves.
So although we may divide the body into systems, we must never forget that we are an operating system where nothing is done in isolation or without consequence. Our body, mind and spirit must be seen as one. Otherwise, a fragmented, compartmentalized approach to health leads to a fragmented, compartmentalized life. We’ve been reduced to the mathematical equivalent of a lab rat that constantly feeds on scientific studies and 3-step formulas on how to live life. At ONVO, we believe life and health are one and the same. The better we connect the two, the greater the success and meaning our lives will hold.
– Dr. Mark
I really do love the message there. If one part of your life is lacking, it will eat away at the other parts. I know this through personal experience and I feel safe in saying that many other people can attest to the same dilemma. We cannot neglect the tough situations, the conversations, and the personal strife in our lives. Instead, we must face these challenges head on because that makes us stronger and it also allows us to have the ability to check in with each of those three pieces. When I say love, passion, never quit, those are the three core pieces of my being. But when the love dies down, the passion will decrease and good lord does it become much easier to quit. You see what I mean?
So, I have dedicated myself to creating a little book. This book, at least right now, is comprised of a black binder that is full of pages of pictures, words, my goals, and everything else that reminds me of those three core pieces. It is said that the first 30 minutes of your day are the most important. I believe this. It is the time of the day that we start off with a clean slate and can create the rest of our day. So I am committed to keeping this book going and to read it every single morning. There it is world, my declaration. I am also in the process of rewriting my goals. I am replacing the goals that I have already accomplished on my list and keeping the ones I promised to finish this year. So far, I am making very good process.
There is no doubt in my mind that if I had a rocking chair in my house back in the city that I would probably write all day. I love the constant feeling of motion and the pressure through my toes. We all go through these funky little phases in our lives, and I think where the true winning formula is to acknowledge that you are in one or was just in one, and then get into action. Action is the killer of mediocrity. If you feel like you are not living up to your potential, get a pencil and a piece of paper and map it out. 1 year, 5 year, 10 year goals…and then write a plan on how to get to each one of those goals. There is no doubt in my mind that you will feel a fire underneath you.
Create a vision for yourself…and decide that you will do anything to achieve it.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project
Reblogged this on Amy Frazier Weblog.
You are one remarkable and remarkably lucky young man to be so intentional about examining, learning from and being the master of your own life already. Took me years to get where you’re at. Keep your light shining brightly!
ps. I think you need to buy a rocking chair..
You inspire me with posts like these..’create a vision..and decide that you will do anything to achieve it’. I think sometimes we create visions – and achieve them without even realizing that we have done so, and as a result don’t celebrate successes that legitimately are worthy of a self-satisfied pat on the back…:-)