Hello! We arrived home safely on Wednesday after a "sleep over" in Toronto when we missed our connecting flight. Have you ever noticed how gorgeous everything looks after you've been away? Vancouver is simply breath-taking in its' natural beauty.
The first couple of nights home found me awake in the middle of the night. Eluded by sleep, legs cramping and mind in overdrive, thinking about the future and questioning myself. I thought that being away in a foreign place would generate some profound insights and clarity about my next steps. It didn't. Sigh. I wasn't home 24 hours before I began to feel a need to get moving. Doing. Something. Anything.
I have to remember that I am a beginner and that I am in a process of unlearning a lifetime of conditioning and messaging. The deeper I go in pursuit of my dream, the less confident I feel because I am stepping into the unknown and that frightens me. Often when there is ambiguity and uncertainty I feel uncomfortable and that's when I want to jump in and take control and get moving so I don't have to feel this way.
My impatience has me falling back into the familiar until my new beliefs, thinking and behaviours become instinctual and natural. I am reminded that I am in a continuous learning cycle, and as long as I am willing to stay open and aware, I have the possibility of reaching new heights of consciousness and personal mastery.
The first couple of nights home found me awake in the middle of the night. Eluded by sleep, legs cramping and mind in overdrive, thinking about the future and questioning myself. I thought that being away in a foreign place would generate some profound insights and clarity about my next steps. It didn't. Sigh. I wasn't home 24 hours before I began to feel a need to get moving. Doing. Something. Anything.
Photograph by Sarah Lee via 2photo.ru
I was drawn back into old thinking patterns. The stuff that made me successful in the past but no longer satisfying. I was hooked back in because it's comfortable, familiar, and for the most part, predictable. Which begs the question: "What drives these feelings of urgency and restlessness?"
Photograph by Michael M. Barrus via Pinterest
I have to remember that I am a beginner and that I am in a process of unlearning a lifetime of conditioning and messaging. The deeper I go in pursuit of my dream, the less confident I feel because I am stepping into the unknown and that frightens me. Often when there is ambiguity and uncertainty I feel uncomfortable and that's when I want to jump in and take control and get moving so I don't have to feel this way.
My impatience has me falling back into the familiar until my new beliefs, thinking and behaviours become instinctual and natural. I am reminded that I am in a continuous learning cycle, and as long as I am willing to stay open and aware, I have the possibility of reaching new heights of consciousness and personal mastery.
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert's there are few"
Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki
Photograph via Think.BigChief
Thought challenge: What is required of you in order to follow your dream? What strategies can you use that will help you stay on track? How will you stay open to learning and to having a beginner's mind?
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