For some, these are curious times. For others, these are frightening, uncertain and chaotic times. At the very least, these are times that press us to either pay closer attention or dive deeper into our preferred strategy for avoidance. However it may be unfolding for you, the one unavoidable moment for any and all of us will be the one when we must choose. And a gentle reminder: choosing not to choose IS a choice… with the natural consequences/outcomes that come with having done so.
A consequence is neither good nor bad; neither reward nor punishment. It is simply the natural byproduct of moving in one direction rather than another. Consequences are neutral and to be expected from any choice. We are the ones who attribute good/bad, right/wrong in labelling whatever that consequence might be. But consequences will never be avoided given that Life presents as one very long, extended invitation to notice the relationship between the process of choosing and what we call ‘reality’.
I have no idea how you go about the fine art of making choices for yourself. I only know that your choices are the framework upon which is displayed the structuring of your reality… and the quality of your Life.
Stand at a crossroads and go left, you end up at one destination and all the experiences that having done so will bring. Go right and those experiences will be distinctly and uniquely different. And all you did was say ‘yes’ to one thing and ‘no’ to another.
Given the critical consequences of choosing, the question now becomes: are you choosing mindfully or are you simply repeating history and habits? Whatever the cause of your having chosen, the consequences are nonetheless equally potent. Choosing from history and habit will ensure the continuance of a life/reality already familiar to you. That you do or do not like that life/reality becomes irrelevant once the choice is made… and you continue to repeat both. Choosing mindfully – from the moment you are in – will offer potential that has not yet likely been embraced.
The power of choosing does not lie in any particular, single choice. The power lies in the recognition that choice is a never-ending process…. one that is exceptional and intentional in making way for us to be in perpetual evolution – if we so choose. The process of choice is the most fundamental mechanism for revealing ourselves to be the Creators that we are.
The word ‘choice’ seems so benign. Consider, instead, that the action we call ‘choosing’ could more accurately be referred to as the moment we shape our reality. Every choice defines or redefines that reality… and its natural byproduct is the quality of the Life we are living. Once we begin to recognize how powerful this process we call ‘choosing’ is, in our daily living, it compels us to explore the Force behind the freedom to choose. We know that the process of choosing is the action… but what is the fuel that allows us to do so, over and over again?
Behind the process of choice lies the power of intention. Without clarity of our intention; without a strong sense of and even deeper commitment to knowing who we are capable of becoming, the lingering uncertainty will cause us to seek safety from the potential chaos of that uncertainty and simply repeat what we already know. History and habit will win over possibility and potential. The end result? Hamsters on a wheel: exerting great effort to stay in the same place.
Intention paves the way for design. Design implies that you have the desire to create. Once that urge rises up inside you, does your desire to create follow its cues.. its guidance… for that design from what you already see around you? Or does that desire to create turn to the inner cues that seek to fulfill a unique expression of your intention for Being.
When it comes to choosing, we are often challenged by the pressure to comply with ’the story’ of who we have been told (by ourselves or others) we are and worse, who we are told we must continue to be. The pressure to comply with what is acceptable to those ‘others’ around us whom we perceive to be in authority (i.e. parents, experts, bosses, etc.) is familiar, relentless and unforgiving. There is great internal pressure to avoid being mocked… shamed… humiliated… even shunned!… when our unique and authentically-expressed design reveals the truth of what lives inside us; and what lives inside us just does not comply with and measure up to externally-imposed expectations.
Now is a good time to pause…. take a few long, slow, deep breaths…. and look at your life. Pay attention to the choices made (or avoided) that have brought you to this moment in your life; have designed this evident roadmap of your journey of creation you call ‘reality’. Where have you simply repeated habit rather than intentionally chosen? Where have you chosen and felt ‘stuck’ in that choice rather than daring to change your mind and choose again, differently? How conscious have you been of the power of the process of choice rather than simply mindlessly selecting an option presented by someone else and settled for its limitation?
When it comes to the colour we choose to paint the living room… well… not likely that will have a significant impact on our future and that of our children and theirs. However, when it comes to the story of reality we choose to embrace and repeat, that is a life-altering decision.
We now stand at the cutting edge of possibility and have already taken countless breaths in the creation of 2023. How will we choose to embrace this new beginning to carve out a reality for ourselves?
Do we lead or do we follow?
If we choose to lead, what inner realty do we intend to bring to life by the choices we make?
If we choose to follow, what storyteller will we anoint with the great gift of our unwavering attention and willing compliance?
And how much thought have you given any of it?
Far too often, we are completely oblivious to the power of our own intention! Intention shapes our future. Intention brings into focus a possibility-come-to-life. Intention demands and is sourced by a deep connection to a higher-order expression of Being, beyond the moment we are in.
Intention demands vision… and that takes work. It draws on and absorbs the energy of your thoughts; the embrace of your inner cues and the upwelling of courage to allow them to take shape. What we give birth to – as a living expression of a conscious embrace of potential – will come to life as the future within which our children and theirs must make their way.
What is your intention for yourself – beyond the story you repeat to yourself that has long lost the power to bring you joy. You have the inner presence to create the Life you want rather than simply inhabit the one you think you’re stuck with – or worse, have been assigned to by a will greater and more persistent than you own.
What is your intention for your children? What vision do you carry for the context for their unfolding? What Space are you willing to carve out and hold for them, that they might have the freedom to unfold… to explore and discover… and become MORE than you had ever allowed for yourself. When we take a stand for what is unique and authentic to them, we have committed to creating space for their potential rather than pressing for their compliance with predictable and imposed behaviour.
What is your intention for your impact as you express into your exiting reality? The vibration of your Being is already shaping and having impact. You are already a thought virus. The essential question becomes: What are you spreading?
It has been said in many places and many ways: nothing changes until you do. Attend to your own inner landscapes. Embrace and explore the dark places you have worked so hard to ignore. Cultivate an intimate and unbreakable bond with courage. Invite and allow a new framework for your own evolution. Very quickly, you discover that you already have and already are all that you need to design the Life of your choosing.