goals

Blessing Your Surroundings with Your Soul’s Creation

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The title of this post may sound a bit dramatic; however, it is the opposite – it is more about simplicity in your daily routine.  On an earlier post, I talked about creation for and with love.  Blessing your surroundings with your soul’s creations is related to that love.  Doing things lovingly for you, your family, and everyone who will share your surroundings is part of that love.  However, there are many ways in which you can enrich your surroundings, and one of them is by being creative in what you do.

We live hurried lives, and many times we function on the auto mode.  By minding the moment and giving it your own touch (creativity) you will enhance the mood, the moment, the task …  When you do this you operate from simplicity, and you bless your surroundings thru your creative spirit.  A simple task of washing dishes (or loading the dishwasher) can become significant, as opposed to being a menial task.  Creativity comes in many forms, visual and non-visual, as a colorful arrangement of fresh-cut flowers at the dinning table or as a gentle breeze flowing thru an open window.

As you continue to bless your surroundings with your creativity, inspiration will continue to flow.

Trust, Be Still, Listen

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Now Listen

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We live hurried lives, and at times, we think that multitasking and 24/7 doing is the answer to moving on, moving up, or getting it right.  Doing is good; goals without a plan and a purpose stay stagnant.  However, there are times when we must trust, be still, and listen to what Spirit – God – or what you want to call it – has to say to us.  All we have to do is ask, trust, be still, and listen.  Many times, the simple things are the hardest to do.

Monks have mastered the art of meditation and listening.  We think that it is impossible for us to master such high art; maybe, because we are approaching it from the hardest point of view.  When we slow down and learned to trust the divine voice inside us, learn to quiet ourselves down, and listen to it, there are new insights to our situation, question, or concern.

Maybe the hardest part is for us to trust.  To trust that what we have asked, pondered, or dreamed is just around the corner if only we would be still and listen to Spirit.

Focusing Effort

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G26wHXST normal target focus

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I have found thru my experience that effort without focus is just hard work without results.  We are raised thinking that hard work is all it takes, coupled with effort and dedication.  Although those are very important ingredients, those have to be focused, directed, and sometimes redirected to accomplish what we want. 

It is easy to get distracted into a ton of effort – I am guilty of it – and forget our focus or take our eye from the target.  It can happen while we are pursuing the target or it can happen without even noticing.  One day, the target gets blurry, and the vision needs to become clear again.  If we are lucky, or in tune with Spirit, we recognize that we need to clean our lenses and re-focus.  This time it becomes a bit easier, because you know how easy it is to lose focus while working hard.  In the end, you emerge a bit wiser, more alert, and thank God for waking you up.

Small Steps – Every Day

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Image of the ZYPAD wrist wearable computer fro...

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I used to get frantic trying to do everything at once.  Worried to the point of becoming stressed, even about the things I could not control.  It took me a while to realize that there is “time for everything under the sun.”  I had read that many times, but never grasped the deep significance the phrase had. 

We go nuts multitasking and running around trying to get everything done.  In the end, we feel burned out and unhappy, the colors of life lose their brightness, and there is no music to our day – just the hurried stomps of our feet as we run like robots without a cause.

It took me a while to realize that small steps everyday accomplish a lot.  Sometimes, even the best antidote against procrastination.  Small steps everyday take you closer to your dreams and goals, and let you feel and see some progress.  Today, I don’t run with the pack, I take small steps, but surely, and everyday – I am happier that way.

Show Up to Life

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Instant Recall

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Many times we think that life is hard enough, specially when things are not going our way.  In an “instant society,” we expect fast results and want things to take shape right away.  In writing, it is the opposite, patience is a virtue, and the slow mode of speed seems to have two lower sub-modes.  Many talented writers give up early, when they don’t see fast results proportional to the hard work they put in.  It is discouraging; however, when you love what you do, you never know what hanging around just a little longer will bring.

Life is like that too, no matter what you happen to do, or be, if you want to beat the “instant expectations” and hang in there, just show up.  Show up to life – show up to write every day, show up to be a parent, to be a doctor, a teacher, you … just show up to life and things will start taking shape.

Doing Things Lovingly

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Life has its ups and downs.  Many times we run through life at fast speeds in our effort to get things done.  After all, it is a society of doers, of achievers, and doing the opposite would attract some frowns and judging, right?  Doing is good, but sometimes, our doing becomes robotic, lifeless, dutiful, and boring.  We don’t enjoy the things we once did because they have turned into stale routine.  We go through life as “zombie doers” without realizing that the magic has left our hands, and our hearts wish for excitement in our endeavors.  However, maybe the magic is still there, and what happens is that we have stopped doing things lovingly.

Doing things with love and passion is in every one of us.  It is up to us to enjoy each moment and dedicate attention to the task at hand – no matter how menial it seems to be.  Washing dishes by hand can be transforming when you start feeling the soapy water, the fruity floral scent of the dishwashing liquid, and hear the squeaky sound of a clean dish.  Somehow, this menial task becomes alive, engaging all your senses.

This is what doing things lovingly means – to enjoy the task at the moment, or to pay full attention to it, to be mindful for the duration of it, and to be thankful that you can do.

Writer’s Wisdom 100

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Are your challenges for writing excuses?

Here it is the 100 post of the Writer’s Wisdom series.  It has been my joy to write them and I hope that you have enjoyed them too.  I chose this topic for this post because we make hundreds of excuses about our writing.  Sometimes, we disguise them and call them challenges.  We all have real challenges, however when we use excuses as challenges, we hurt ourselves and our work.  This applies to writing, but also, to everything in our lives.

Are we using our dated computer as an excuse?  Our lack of control over the assignments we take?  The book that won’t write itself because the Muse seems to be on strike?  Or maybe it is the neighbor that plays loud music and does not let you focus? – (earplugs do exist).

Whatever our challenges are, we should look at them as opportunities to grow in our craft and not as excuses.  Whatever our excuses are, we should not dress them in “challenge attire,” but face them instead.

Everyone has challenges, every one of us makes excuses at one point in our lives; it is what we do with them that will hinder or promote our growth.

Happy Writing!

Writer’s Wisdom 97

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Using work to procrastinate – Procrastination can keep you busy.

Yesterday, I wrote about being scared of success and the many ways in which we avoid change in our lives, even at the cost of our own success.  Today I want to add to the topic.  Procrastination is a way in which we can avoid change or sabotage our success.  While many may think that procrastination is more related to lack of doing or putting things off, this is only a part of it.  You can use work to procrastinate and procrastination can keep you busy.

It may seem a contradiction, but it is just different sides of the same coin.  You can use tons of chores, projects, activities, and keep yourself busy in other assignments to avoid change.  All of this is a form of procrastination, as the busier you keep yourself with other projects, you will not have to face the one that may change your present situation.

Procrastination in the shape of work is a soft and hidden form of self-sabotage and one that we should be aware of as it can trick us into believing that we are working hard towards our success when the opposite is true – we are working hard to avoid change/success.

Writer’s Wisdom 96

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Scared of Success

Are you scared of success?  Do you find tons of “important” things to do before writing that story or editing that final draft?  Do you come up with new projects to delay success? 

Many people have done this one time or another.  After all, success means changing the status quo and inviting change in our lives.  Change, even if it is good, can be challenging and scary for many people.  Anything that takes us away from our daily routine, even for a small amount of time, disrupts our sense of security, and puts us in a state of watch.  If we perceive that the change may be a big one, we may do things – without even realizing it – to delay change or avoid it, including delaying our success.

Today, think about this (just as I have) – are you doing something to delay success in your life?

Writer’s Wisdom 76

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Juggling Act

When you write for a living, you will probably cram your schedule with as much writing as you can, and many projects at once – some short-term, others, long-term assignments.  A lot of time can be spent in projects that do not generate enough income.  Learning to decide which projects to put aside and which ones to pick up is not as easy as it seems.

While a project may give you instant rewards, another will reward you much more in the long run.  Also, you may have to put aside your favorite project to handle a more profitable one.  Or you might have to cut a project to a few days a month, if that project is not generating what you want – and sometimes, cut it altogether.

This is why writing for a living is like a juggling or balancing act – you have to be balancing projects and deciding which ones to give a priority, which ones fit your needs at the moment, and which one to drop or revisit later.  Timing is also important, as a project that may have seem profitable initially, may not be, if you are spending more time in it than you originally planned.