“Good Morning!”
As I was walking this morning, greeting others walking the same path, I became philosophical after my salutation wasn’t returned by two of the passersby.
I wondered, “Did they not hear me? Are they so ingrained not to talk to strangers that my acknowledgement of their presence startled them? What reason would they have for not simply returning my greeting? Are they so caught up in exercising that they are oblivious to their surroundings?”
After I queried my mind for reasons for the lack of response, I found myself annoyed by the lack of courtesy. “Geez, how hard is it to return my greeting?”
In the middle of my mini rant, I had to chuckle at myself and question my own motives. I asked myself, “What was MY intention in greeting others on my path? Was it to demonstrate my good manners? Was it to acknowledge that I was not alone in my enjoyment of the path? Was it because I genuinely cared whether or not the people I met were having a good start to their day?”
…now keep in mind that this deluge of thought all occurred within 5 minutes…
No, not from my morning walk. But the uphill path resonated with me.
So what is my point for sharing this?
I was amused by the range of emotions I went through in the span of 5 minutes, by allowing the action (or in this case the inaction) of two random people to invade my thoughts—and not in a good way. I went from happy-go-lucky, to self-conscious, to irritated, to self-deprecating all at lightning speed.
Since I’m highly sensitive, this type of emotional ping-pong can easily occur if I’m not paying attention. I had begun my walk with no intention—except to get through the requisite duration of my exercise.
Live Purposefully with Clear Intentions
My reaction was a reminder of how easy it is to get off-course when I don’t choose to live purposefully with clear intentions of what I want to accomplish.
Sometimes being purposeful, soliciting guidance from my spiritual team, and constantly striving to better myself in all ways possible can feel overwhelming and exhausting. But that’s when I realize I’m trying too hard. Spiritual guidance—like life in general—should flow. Like being downstream of a river, it is important to allow it (spiritual guidance, life’s blessings) to come to me instead of chasing after it. But it’s also important to set a general direction for the guidance that I desire.
Whether you’re trying to work in concert with your spiritual team or you’re just trying to find the rhythm of your life, I feel setting intentions and allowing things to come to you are the keys to success. What’s your perspective?