thrive

Left to my natural inclination, I am not much for talking about plans and ideas, but prefer to set a quiet intent and then just act. I am lucky to share my life with someone who loves to discuss though, on every level, and discussion has a way of bringing quiet ideas and senses of things to fuller life. Recently, we had some great conversation with a friend about energy expenditure. We could all unanimously agree, in our own individual ways, that we could be using our energy more wisely. We talked about animals as a reference point (we are animals after all, just more complicated with the things of things of things). As an animal creature in the universe, there seems to be a certain amount of energy output required to be a working part of the whole. For example, each animal must do it’s part in finding and processing food, hunting, resting, cleaning oneself, guarding the nest, looking out for the pack, tending to ones home/nest or finding a place to bed down each night, etc… you get the gist.. There is a certain consistent, steady activity that is a natural, fundamental part of being alive and part of the world. Even rest is an activity.

If you observe the life around you, you can see that there seems to be a universal flow, where all life forms have an activity, and that activity is enmeshed with the activities of everything else in life around them. Everyday there is an activity level that seems dictated by the universe, or life itself, which seems natural, ancient, perfect. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to try to go outside of that; to try to overdo or underdo. It seems best to try to be in that natural, rhythmic flow that is in touch with all life.

So the question is, where are your/our/my daily activities off tilt? Maybe too much time is spent tending the nest and not enough time on foraging for the right foods for that day. Or maybe you spent too much time grooming, leaving your pack vulnerable to predators because you weren’t there helping to keep watch. Or perhaps you indulged in mindless activities when you should have just taken a nap to recharge. In the human realm we also have the complications of money and media and possessions… (and is any of that even real?).

I have been thinking about what really does matter in terms of where my time is spent, and how much of it to spend where…. what would allow me to strike the right balance and really thrive. This balance may look different day by day, or season by season, but with mindful attention to the correct cues, and a bit of discipline, I think it could be easier to strike that balance than it might seem. The cues that I feel matter are my body and it’s well being, feeling creatively inspired, feeling full of breath and energy, vitality…

These are the thoughts that I enter this new year with. I feel excited and buoyant with this simpler, clearer relativity for navigating each day.

I’d love to hear any of your thoughts, if you feel compelled to share.