Blog: Your Guide to Life
So first I don’t mean to disappoint you, but the truth is…there is NO GUIDE TO LIFE. Never was, and there never will be.
Why?
Because my life is mine and your life is yours, and we will not be able to agree on one single direction for anything forever.
Now that we have that handled…
Here is my guide for life… TODAY.
1. Wake up and pee, meditate (even for just 30 seconds) on something that brings you a sigh of relief, take a deep breath, take in a dose of freedom, and then get up and make your bed. You will feel like you have accomplished something, and you will have already won the day.
2. Wish someone in your social media jungle, even if you don’t know them, a happy birthday… it is, believe it or not, an act of service. Honoring someone's birth acknowledges their existence and shares gratitude for the way they got their soul onto this earth. It is loving, it is kind, and it is intentional.
3. Do something productive. Even if you don’t have a job at the moment, do something that leaves you feeling like you moved forward in your life in some way. This promotes happy hormones, and it activates the domino effect - from one action springs many others. Newton’s 1st Law of Motion suggests that you will get way more done if you exert energy in a direction, as energy in motion stays in motion. So get something started!!! (Side effects might include joy, laughter, creativity, collaboration, new thinking, greater attention, higher awareness and innovation.)
4. Eat. As a chronic meal skipper my body often goes on strike. I can hear it whining and telling me that I neglect it… then it sends the stomach brigade with all their noises and squeaks as if that will get my workaholic hustling mind to pause and eat. By the time I lift my head out of the “overrated-how-important-it-was-work" I am doing, I am beyond hungry and want to eat every fast sugar producing carb I can get my hands on. Not a habit to sustain clear effective workflow and a healthy body temple. So put alarms on, make your computer automatically shut down, or have a friend make sure that you eat every 2-3 hours and stay hydrated so you can actually hustle longer with more productive output!
5. Move your body. We have gotten used to chairs at work, couches at home, benches in parks, and the comfort of sitting, but this is not what our bodies were designed to do. We are meant to be wandering the earth in search of who knows what- our meaning, our purpose, our mission or maybe just our next meal. This truth supports the strong suggestion I have for you to get up and move. Walk, run, bike, punch something (not someone), do jumping jacks, dance, skip, hop, roll, or strike a yoga pose. Do anything that gets your heart pumping, your blood flowing and your body being told you acknowledge its existence, and ask it to support the direction you are heading. This will promote breathing, head clearing, hormone balancing, and state changing to name a few very self-honoring actions. You probably can’t help being happier and more creative too. Try it. It works.
6. Write. We are so immersed and ingrained in digital native land that we forget we have a hand, a pen or pencil, and paper that all works together in harmony to craft the ancient art of letter writing. Write a hand-written letter or note to someone you love, yourself included. It doesn’t have to be long, but when you do it you are sending energetic and kinesthetic vibes into the universe, and you are making a commitment to seeing the words that swirl around in your head materialize right before you on the paper as if you are a magical unicorn. (Yes I have become aware that this is how obsolete writing has seemed to become…unicorn status). Writing activates a part of our neurology that helps clear our thoughts, move the mind to new possibilities, and it also allows our eyes to witness the completion of something with each period we write at the end of the sentences we scribble. It is a beautiful way to share love, and provide the unique experience of a physical gift to the recipient of your letter. You, in essence, are mailing them love and the “touch” of your hand.
7. Read. Preferably aloud to yourself something that challenges your thinking, your perspective, your intelligence, or your opinion. This experience of reading introduces us to flexibility. We are reading someone else’s ideas manifest in the book or article or blog or whatever format it is, and we can consider its impact on us. Are we moved, annoyed, inspired, disgusted, happy, calmed, or intrigued? It can evoke so many emotions, and in so doing, it helps us see more than just our perspective. We become better listeners, better speakers, better writers, better negotiators just by reading. What book are you gonna reach for? SHARE IN THE COMMENTS. I really wanna know, I have a reading list.
8. Sit Still. Don’t get me wrong, I have been called antsy many times in my life. I am the person whose leg is bouncing a million miles a minute when someone in a meeting is talking too slowly. However, I have learned to cool my engines and revel in arriving in the present moment. It does take some practice to move through the myriad of thoughts that spiral through my brain until I can settle in and pause long enough to slip in that long deep breath that grounds me into my heart, and gets me into my sitting stillness. It clears the mind, resets the spirit and gathers all your brilliance so you can rejuvenate and create after the moments pass. These moments strung together like yards of Christmas tree lights add up in our subconscious mind, and bring an inner calm, peace and stillness that really does heal unrest and upset. Press your reset button and sit there. Smiles are definitely encouraged.
9. Connect. As your day winds down, use this time to connect in some way with someone. Write a message, call a friend, grab a tea, do a workout class, do something that has you at best come into physical contact, and at bare minimum come into virtual contact. When you connect, you remember that you belong, and you validate that the recipient of your connection belongs. For this moment that you share, you are in a vortex of being seen and seeing. This touch is what keeps human beings alive at birth. When we feel loved, and share our love, we enter into the dance of souls, and this is where healing and love are bred.
10. Bedtime Intention. Set an intention before you do everything. In particular, before you go to sleep. When you dive off to sleep your conscious defense system is down, and so you can feel free to move around the cabin of your life. You can release fears and misunderstandings that may cloud your vision and acceptance. You can ask for gifts, for awareness, for guidance, and for support with things that only the universe can help you with. You can rest and restore and rejuvenate so you are ready to receive again the next day. Allow yourself to journey so that you can benefit from all the work you do to be the greatest version of yourself and have the biggest impact you can have. Sleep will be a beautiful space for your dreams to get sifted and sorted so they can become as real as they are when you imagine them.
