Identify, Obtain, Wrap & Open!

Identify, Obtain, Wrap & Open!

How does your life look to you when compared to your life last year?  Day by day, little changes creep into our lives that affect us each & every day.  They are so small though generally & we may not notice how our lives evolve within say a year or so.

How much of what has changed within the year has been as a result of daily decisions that you have made day in & day out?  What about the changes that happened within your life that are a result of external demands?  In attending to these demands, did you lose a little bit of your own personal passion or purpose day after day?

When I think about time, I equate it to that of a budget.  A financial budget is an easy comparison.  There is x amount coming into the household each month & the key is to determine how we allocate this.  Where time diverges from finances though primarily is in that we have absolutely no idea how much time we will be gifted with on this earth.  Each day can be seen through the eyes of excitement, gratitude, adventure or through the lens instead of repetition, anxiety, and boredom.  Of course there are states in between these as well.

We can have those times in our lives where it seems as though external demands are monumental & need our attention.  When our children are very young, for example, our personal daily time budget is by nature exceedingly low.  As things change in our lives though & other doors open up, do we fill in some openings within our personal time with activities that renew us or drain us?  Truthfully, there have been times when I would rather not silence my mind long enough to ask myself that question because I already knew the answer in my heart & brain.  Here’s the part that I disliked the most about realizing that I had at times given my time to activities that were not adding to my purpose & passion in this life & that is that in recognizing that fact meant that I had to make some changes.  If I did not choose to make changes then my principles, values & purpose were made meaningless & that to me is pain personified.

Personally, I choose to assess how things are going in November & February.  There is no real intention behind those months for major reflection.  That is just how it has unfolded over the years & well, it works.  November can be a somber month particularly climate wise, however at the same time, can be filled with gratitude & excitement.  Why?  November is the month that we have Remembrance Day.  It is a time of profound gratitude that I love to live with all my spirit in honour of the heroes :  our soldiers of past & present.  It is the month as well that folks with diabetes can choose to be more of an advocate since it is diabetes awareness month.  It is a month that we can choose to give ourselves credit for taking great care of ourselves every day of the year when we look at that big light blue circle of hope.  There is a saying & please forgive me because I don’t remember who coined the phrase.  The quote is, “we need to calm the monkey mind.”  It is not meant to be a disrespectful term.  It simply reminds us that it is extremely challenging in this fast paced world to quiet our minds so that we can connect with our spirits & “check in “ with ourselves to see “how things are going really.”  Monkeys seem to appear in November & February in my life on a comic note.  November, I have “blue monkey” my diabetes awareness mascot stuffie & in February, I have the imaginary of “calming my monkey mind.” 

On a joking note, you know that line in “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” by the Grinch where he says,”oh the noise, noise, noise, noise!”  Have you found though that when your home is quiet or there is a lull in conversation that there is a level of discomfort.  Do you tend to fill that time of silence with noise in one form or another?  Does it seem unnatural to you to have quiet for even a short time?  I will share with you that left to my own natural tendencies, I would not seek the quiet that my spirit thrives upon without these reflections in November & February to see how far “derailed” my life little by little may have become one decision at a time, one day at a time.

When I reflect upon 2010, 2011 & the first half of 2012, I know through & through that I did not “quiet my monkey mind.”  I kept telling myself that if I simply completed the list of tasks & obligations that I had (over committed) myself to that then I would reflect & make any course corrections in my life.  My husband has an eccentric saying & that is “when you think that you are too busy & too stressed that you need to go for a 30 minute walk right away & if you think and or say that you are too busy for a 30 minute walk, then you need a 60 minute walk.”  I see wisdom in that saying.  During those 2 ½ years, I put my purpose & passion on hold & frankly said no to my “bigger yes.”  It was a painful time…painful.  The lesson though will be one that lasts.  I learned to turn myself right side up again one day at a time, one decision at a time.  Yikes, I even learned how to use the word, “no” every once in a while too & the sky did not fall!  It was a humbling experience.  When I look at what my life looked like last winter & compare it with this year, I am absolutely amazed about the difference.  Life is not perfect for anyone & I do not expect to live life in any other form than with the ups & downs that we all experience. I had listened again to my spirit & heart within the quiet times & it was medicinal.  Reflection was something that I had inadvertently given up for 2 ½ years.  Prior to that time, I had stayed on track but somehow, day by day, I fell off the tracks & my life I realized was not being living “on purpose” but rather more like perhaps for the purpose of a myriad of others & their passions.  Becoming derailed & then getting back on purpose has taught me more than ever how to be more thankful for this time of reflection that I had for years taken for granted.

Whether you have type 1 or another form of diabetes or another 365 challenge, don’t you find that you thrive when you are living your own unique purpose?  Have you thought about what your mission or purpose is?  Then do you make daily choices to keep driving in the direction of your purpose?  What reminds you to stay on purpose?  Last winter, the thing that broke the cycle of being derailed & getting back to reflection & course correction was an additional health scare.  That was the tap on the shoulder & I sure listened to it.  Day by day, I made changes & admitted to myself that I was way off track.  I realized what was truly important, then figured out the decisions & actions that I was committed to making each day & I wrapped it up & gave it to myself!  Today as I share this with you, I am sitting in a quiet room in our home with our goldie all curled up next to me.  Beyond the couch, I am absolutely captivated by a simple painting that we recently hung up on our wall.  It is a painting of Georgian Bay.  It reminds me that I will always take my growing up years in Georgian Bay with me.  The painting is of a tree along the shoreline. I know I have walked that exact location in the painting & my heart smiles & feels peace in experiencing this painting.  It anchors me to look at this simple painting.  It is indeed medicinal.  Do you know who painted this simple landscape?  It was created by the man who is responsible for literally saving my life.  Perhaps he saved your life too?  He did if you have type 1 diabetes.  It was painted by Sir Frederick Banting. 

My heart’s hope for you is that you give yourself a priceless gift of identifying, obtaining, wrapping & opening up your purpose.  Go ahead, live your life on purpose…your purpose.  There is a quote that is especially “exactly right” & that is, “an original is always worth more than a copy.”  Are you living your life as the beautiful original that you are.  My heart hopes so.

Smiles, Saundie :)  Oh, and it will be lovely to share time together this Monday with the writing entitled, "Once Upon a Time...Come on, Ask"  :)