“You don’t think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking.” ― Henry Nouwen
Though all is contained in one collective space, the mind, heart, body and soul can vie for preeminence over each other or become independent of one another. At least that has been my experience.
The mind has its intnetions in the right place, but yet, if it cannot interconnect with its teammates, there will be little if any change in course. It can generate great ideas and stimulate a new vision, but if the heart doesn’t buy into it and the spirit is not willing, well, you know how the state of the flesh.
Talking oneself out of great beginnings has been one of this author’s highest acheivements. The sensation is akin to rolling oneself out of a deep snow drift. Rev it up, rock it back, rev it up more, rock it back. You get the gist. Laying out vast schematics within your mind as to why things just won’t work the way you wish. Then avoiding the revision that points out the straightest path.
All the while, your heart retains an unfulfilled emptiness, your soul untested and a body stuck in an idle neutral.
Yet, if you overcome the urge to reinvent and rationalize, and to paraphrase, “do it”, then all heck breaks loose. The heart begins to engage and fill with a sense of joy brought on by the actions. Your soul begins to align and see an incumbent purpose in the undertaking. Your body generates an energy and momentum to carry moment and those to come. And your mind, quips, “why didn’t I think of this?”
When all four work in concert, they collaborate not just to maintain but to elevate their game. Rallying to overcome adversity and challenges that may attack a specific aspect of your being by acting as one. Smarter overcomes harder. Joy inundates sorrows. Purpose replaces purposeless. And a new found stamina energizes the entire enterprise.
Thinking about it does have its place. But that may only serve to restrict you to a highly confined area. Living it invites you to an ever sprawling world. Embracing all there is about you. Open to adventure. Learning. Growth. Connection. Purpose.
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Maybe you have noticed a transformation.
Perhaps you are gaining a sense of this.
Feeling its tug. An awareness of gravity. How the mass of your collective thoughts, words and deeds have led you to this instant.
Impacting someone. Making something. Leading somewhere.
For they all matter. And even now, both they – and you – are still being shaped.
Taking all that you have been up to now – and making you into what you are to become. The embodiment of all that is the best in you; character, excellence, perseverance and leadership.
Your intentions then finally and irrevocably become reality.
A convergence of age, ability, experience. The confluence of discipline, desire and dreams. In something altogether new. That will stand alone. That will never happen precisely in this fashion ever again.
Long ago, each of you entertained the smallest germ of a thought. A glimmer of a dream.
At that moment, you decided. You chose a destination.
But a path was needed. Direction determined. A pace to be set.
You let go. Abandoned yourself for one another. Subservient for a greater good. Exerting the will to expend yourself in all aspects of your being. Succumbing to a level of self-discipline that ultimately created this extraordinary circumstance.
Creating a singular vision, originating from a common perspective.
“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbours; that which it loves; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; … and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.” – James Allen
What your souls harbor is especially important right now. For as I speak, what you have always wanted is right there. In your path. Within reach.
The allure of what lay just ahead may be tempting. You might want to peek. To veer left a little. Or to the right. To get up on tippy toes to take a gander. To peer over the top.
Yet, you must not stray.
To look ahead is to leave this moment. Lifting one’s gaze up, around or under will skew your trajectory. A change in perspective will reduce focus. Obfuscate vision. Dissipate intention. Impede effort. Foster missteps.
You could lose sight of your path.
Distractions are apt to be abundant. Self induced. Born of doubt. Fear. Expectation. Anticipation. Yet focus is not meant to exist in the absence of distractions. It is a trait intended to exist in spite of them.
So just as you chose this path, you must now decide to maintain focus.
To honor your vision regardless of the situation. Committing to preserve that most singular and proper perspective. To abide by the very essence of discipline. Expending unparalleled levels of effort and persistence. Exerting uncommon character and leadership. Aspiring to the highest standards of attitude and attention.
To finish.
To relentlessly pursue excellence.
And succeed.
By setting a tone that rings true to your vision alone.
When we “let it be”, we give our consent to allow things to play out.
This isn’t to say that we ever had the ultimate authority in these matters. We just like to think that we do. To “let it be” is an admission that we need to step back, defer our assumed jurisdiction and grant Him the opportunity to work things out. After all, His plans DO take precedence.
Once we can admit that personal command can be elusive and control is tenuous at best, we can cease and desist, cede our alleged authority, and let His will be done.
Regardless of the high praise we deem for our abilities, the importance we assign to our desires or the confidence we hold in the righteousness of our position, to “let go” assures us that we have correctly ordered our priorities and recognized our proper role.
At its core, to “let go” is choosing our surrender.
It is an acknowledgement that His loving order of things, “works best for us.”
As we endeavor to make the transition towards this “happy place”, less of our emotional and spiritual energy will be consumed on the superficial, transient and the petty.
We can conserve our precious personal resources. Create a reserve. And begin to reallocate it in another direction: outward. Once we reach this point, we can afford to “give it up”.
With less personal control and even surrender, things should spiral out of orbit – right? On the contrary; less sovereignty in this respect leads to greater independence, stability and well-being.
Control becomes an extension of our ego, and when left unchecked, has the potential to work against us – and – the greater good.
An ego run amok will falsely inflate our self-esteem. It will crowd out humility, creating within us a bogus sense of self-importance and security. It can become a very demanding companion.
For once you let it come to the table, it will remain there, begging to be fed.
Always desperate for attention, ego can enjoin us to perform all sorts of interpersonal gymnastics, cultivate manipulative behaviors and help perfect dishonesty. This is an exhausting and empty exercise.
When we learn to “let it be” and then find the courage to “let go”, we set ourselves on a trajectory towards the emotionally and spiritually fulfilling growth that can only be found when we “give it up”.
Abandoning our preoccupation with control and employing our innate humility to rein in ego, we can gain an essential element of independence.
No longer beholden to the transience of these self-made and self-destructive adversaries, we find our true center. With our overall sense of balance restored, and an enhanced sense of well-being imminent, we are positioned to give up more of our personal resources; our ‘self’.
As we can learn to syncopate our lives – altering its rhythm by putting the accent on thoughts, words and deeds not usually emphasized – we become attuned to an entirely different melody.
No longer distracted by our illusions of command and control or driven solely by ego, we have the opportunity to fulfill our potential and maximize our talents to a level that can only be achieved by openly sharing our abilities.
To “give it up”, is to share who and what we are in total, bringing light to places long kept dark, both within and without.
Once this path has been illuminated, it can lead us toward a lasting and positive personal transformation. By freeing our “selves” from our self-centered constraints, we gain true independence.
If only you can follow His gentle tug.
The more we allow ourselves to follow that pull, the more we recognize that it is where we were meant to be all along.
When we “give it up”, we shine the beacon of our better nature everywhere we go. Though we might start as but one point of light, over time, our radiance soon brings out the brilliance in others.
Our gift to them – “giving it up” – can become their gift of “giving it up” to others.
Only when we recognize these personal barriers – the ones that separate us from our gifts and from giving them fully to others – can they be dismantled and removed.
We can transform our lives and those around us when we become less concerned with control, no longer held captive by our ego. Absolved of maintaining such a high level of vigilance over our “selves”, we preserve more energy and retain more freedom to simply “be”.
When we can “give it up”, sharing more of what and who we are with others, our true “self” generates its own gravitational pull.
Just as we feel a gentle pull towards Him, others feel the gentle pull towards us.
The greater the orbit we allow our “selves” to venture into, while maintaining our synchronous orbit about Him, the more we are able to reveal the best that is in us, encouraging others to do the same.
All the good things in life He wants for us that can only come from “giving it up”.
...my temporary assignment. 