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A time for everything – the importance of acting and dreaming

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And so there is a time for everything.  As we all know…a time for work, a time for play and a time for rest.  A time to dream and a time to act. A time to stop and a time to go.   The list goes on and on.  With the days of our lives going by so quickly, it can be easy to forget what is actually happening within our lives.  Let me assure you though, it is all happening.  Take a moment and think about it.  What is the “everything” that is happening in your life?

This past week I have experienced pretty much all that I could have it seems.  I have had good things happen.  I have also had some truly challenging things happen.  I have worked.  I have played.  I have laughed.  I have cried.  I have spent time with amazing friends in Prince Edward Island helping plan for the launch of this.  I have rested.  I have been there for my kids…for the good, the bad and the completely difficult.  I have held amazing Skype calls with colleagues to strategize, to learn and to be accountable.  I have made time to visit my Mom and to chat with my Dad.  I, like many others – such as Diane Brogan, have contemplated the issues of poverty and worried about the level of homelessness. I have explored a million options related to a possible, sudden housing relocation for my own family. I have reached out to colleagues for advice and I have continued actioning the plans for my latest project.  I have delivered wonderful news that made someone’s week the best it could possibly be.  I have talked about alignment of values with action.  I have reconfirmed the importance of authenticity – not only for myself but for those that I choose to surround myself with.  I have supported colleagues, as they have made hard decisions in the face of incredible change. I even found the time to write a blog post on generosity in social media.   Clearly,  it has been a busy week.  A good week and an exhausting week – all at the same time.

Here is the most important part though, through all of this  I have still  managed to fit some time in for dreaming or “blue skying” as I like to call it.  Honestly, it is  is one of the things that I do the very best in my life; especially when I am in PEI.  I regularly create opportunities for my mind to wander, to explore and to consider what is next.  I work things through and I solve impossible problems by being open to creativity. I let my mind loose to look at everything, leaving nothing in the dark or untouchable.  I know this is one of the reasons that I am so attracted the daily blue skies that @lizstrauss shares with the world.  They remind me, on a daily basis, that the possibilities within the universe are virtually endless.  I was pleased when I discovered that my #SOBCon colleague @MartiKonstant also recently wrote how she makes room for this kind of expansive thinking in her post entitled Making Room for White Space (her own version of blue skying):

It is more likely that an idea came to you when there was more space in your brain to think creatively. On your walk or bicycle ride home from work. Or on your morning run or doing your yoga workout.

Another way of coming up with fresh ideas is to create your own white space. Change your surroundings for time alone to think or time to collaborate with a team is a good start. The new environment can be down the hall or across the street at a local coffee shop.

So…you see as in everything in life, there is a balance.  There truly is a time for everything. Make sure that you are both acting and dreaming. Be true to your heart, your mind and your soul.  Don’t just go through the day to day motions.  Celebrate the good and the challenging. Most importantly, though, keep your mind open to the endless possibilities that are available to you. Dreaming AND acting will enable you to truly get to the very best possible places in YOUR life.

What is the “everything” that is happening in your life?  Are you making room for dreaming?  Do you act on your dreams?

 

The heart mind connection – nothing matters more

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Honestly, have a good look in the mirror and ask yourself if your heart and your mind are truly aligned together. Are you having heart to mind talks on a regular basis? Do you allow your head to hear your heart and what it really wants and needs every day? Do you know the true values that represent who you are?

Unfortunately, there are many people who are not able to do this. Actually, there are more than a few people who look in the mirror and no longer recognize themselves. They are lost in life. Excellent at going through the motions. Superb at being safe. Satisfied with what they have achieved. Inside though, in the quiet of their minds, they are numb. They have become so good at turning off the signals that their heart is trying to tell them that they are pros at maintaining the status quo. Look around you. Look at the people you love, the people you work with, your neighbours….just look. Guaranteed you will see people who have lost their way in the world and as a result they have checked out of their life….literally. They are just living day to day.

Today, I can admit I recently came very close to this same place in my own life. I became very good at doing what I needed to do. I managed. I was responsible. I was effective. As a result, slowly over time I began to disconnect my mind from my heart. Not all at once, but a little at first and then a lot more day by day. Why? Hard to say. Probably for many reasons – life, work, family and much more. The truth is that I too started to become very good at going through the day to day motions. Actually, I excelled at it. I did it because it was easy. It was safe. Most of all it required little commitment to my heart and as such it became increasingly simple to let go of the things that mattered the most to me. To just not worry about what it all really meant. Lucky for me though, somewhere inside my heart, I knew that my mind needed a wake up call. Not just a little one either but a really big one. I knew if I allowed myself to take the easy way out for any longer the game would be over. Safe would have won. Comfortable would mean the best of what was yet to come would be no longer. Even worse, the amazing technicolor dreams of my heart would be gone forever.

As a result of all of this, I did what I had to do. I did what was right. I forced my mind to listen to the signals my heart was sending. At first those signals were quiet but then over time they became louder and louder. At last, I came to a place of recognizing that I needed to stand up and claim my life. Actually claim it….own it. Put a stake in the ground and say this is who I am, what I stand for and where I am going. I knew that I needed to start living my life according to the true person that is within my heart…nothing more and certainly nothing less.

Now I recognize that there will be people who will see this post and think that perhaps I been reading a few too many self help books or that all of this sounds a little crazy. I assure you this is not the case. Not at all. What has happened is that I have come to a place in my life where I now understand that time stands still for no one. Not you. Not me. I now know that we all come into this world with a heart that can do amazing things…if we let it lead the way. All we have to do is listen and stop ourselves from living our life on autopilot because it is safe. We need to let go of the fears that we have within ourselves and simply accept that there is nothing more important than aligning our heart with our mind and ultimately our actions. I now know, that by truly doing this there is nothing to fear….nothing at all. Nothing I can’t handle will happen. Life is good and meant to be lived. My plan is to do this, each and every day. I will be fully present, fully engaged and fully connected to what truly matters in my heart. I know that the strength and opportunities that will come from that level of commitment to myself are endless. I also know there are other people in the world who also lead from the heart. Actually, there are a lot of them and we will attract one another and do amazingly, cool things together.

I am totally clear about who I am and where I am going.  I am no longer worried about tomorrow.  I’m also working hard to let go of second guessing myself. I fully embrace today and tomorrow. I plan to move forward in 2012 with an aligned heart and mind. I am 100% ready to live, laugh and earn by building connections, facilitating conversations and leading change to make the world a much better place. I will do this in my work, in my family, in my play and in the many ways that I live my life each and every day.  It is exactly why I am here and is what is right for both my heart AND my mind.

When you look in the mirror do you see your true self? Are your mind and heart fully aligned or are you just going through the motions?