Sacred Moments

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
~Thích Nhất Hạnh

How does the end of the year feel for you? Like me, have you been alternating between review, creation, and planning? Or are you gripping the seat and holding your breath whilst life continues on the rollercoaster of experiences? If the latter feels like you, trust me, I get it.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
~ Buddha

In this musing, I will share what practices we may use to get from the unsettling, out-of-control feeling back to our true nature and the joy of creating and actioning those creations with grace under our wings into our day.

If you are reading this, you have heard of the terms clean slate, beginner’s mind, rebirth, new day, or any of the many other ways we describe another chance. These terms, even though they do not mean the same thing per se, do have something in common: the ability to invite in the idea that we have no control over the seeming chaos in the world and even in our lives. Yet, we do have control over what we think about the chaos, what we feel, think, and believe about ourselves and our interactions with the world.

As many of you know, I have spent close to a couple of decades in a recovery program, and it is foundational in my mindful life and my mindful living approach. I use all I have gained through “working” that program in my day-to-day life, including my relationships with business, family, friends, the world, life, that which is greater than me, and most importantly, MYSELF.

To start, I contest and believe these programs are whole in nature, and the sum of the parts is much greater than the program ideology partitioned out. And if you often feel a sense of suffering in your relationship with life, I invite you to check out CODA.

Having said that, I will borrow and modify one idea today to share with you as a practice that allows us to reflect upon our day in the practice of honestly being with what is present for us and how we lived the day. We look at our choices and are honest with ourselves about how these choices do or do not align with who we want to be. We do not make excuses or overanalyze the why. We accept our HUMANITY and…