APRIL 2022 – Building a good future, where does one begin? There are certainly plenty of foundational elements that go into crafting things of value. If we are talking about building a residential building, literally the foundation is important, but what about in the arc of your life? Determining what you value can be a quality starting point. Your health, your connections with family and friends, being part of a community, contributing to society and earning a living, pursuing goals larger than yourself, education, faith, having purpose, there are numerous ingredients and your individual formula will vary. But it is very helpful to acknowledge what it is that you want and then consider what steps you need to take to travel in that direction.
Life is always moving, evolving, growing, changing, and requires you to be able to be flexible and strong enough to adapt to the demands of the moment. Having rigid thinking and impossible goals is just as likely to lead you nowhere as is having no goals and not thinking, so don’t let your own wants and thoughts cripple you. Putting effort into everything you do will always serve you well, whether you can immediately see the fruits of your labor or not. The things that we value the most always take the largest amount of effort and work, there is no getting around that. And it is incredibly important to be honest with yourself, to take good care of yourself, and to help make the world around you better.
If you can laugh in the face of failure, re-evaluate your techniques and methods, re-double your efforts and continue working hard, there is always the potential to make things better. Thought experiment for you, try thinking about two things simultaneously… go ahead, take a moment, try. Can you do it? Realizing that we can only hold one thought in our mind at a time, makes it all the more important to make sure that the solitary thoughts that we are holding and telling ourselves are positive. And if you’re interested in meditation like I am, you’ll try and have periods of no thoughts (which is not easy!), where you can let your mind be at peace.
Have been thinking a lot lately (probably should be meditating more, but life gets busy!), largely about work, the courses I’m taking, how to build a better future for the world, and how to live a fulfilling life. With all of that heaviness it can be easy to let slip through your fingers the moments of happiness that are available all around you. Something to ponder at least!
Finished reading ‘1984’ by George Orwell this month, wow does that book hit hard. Feels all too real in the present era and is definitely worth picking up again if it has been a long-time since you last read it. Do they still teach it in schools? I hope so, it is an important work. Looking forward to the summer and having more time for reading and spending time by the water (talk about an instant zen experience!). Would encourage each and every one of you to continue pursuing a good future, to be kind to those close to you, create things of value, and share generously with those you care about.
Until our paths cross again, cheers!
~ CS
