Nine Years

 Nine years ago with much trepidation I posted my first posting on my blog, Grace Found Daily. Interestingly I quoted Stephen Covey, and his second habit of, “Begin with the end in mind.” Except I had no end in mind. I just knew that I wanted to start writing. 

As the years have gone by I have written faithfully five days a week to hit or miss depending on the year. Do I regret starting the blog? No, but I find it to be quite rudderless as the years have progressed. 

Today in reading Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic, January 5th’s entry: Clarify Your Intentions, I’ve come to the conclusion that having no end in mind has been counterproductive. Ryan states:

“Having an end in mind is no guarantee that you’ll reach it-but not having an end in mind is a guarantee you won’t.”

He points out that having no real direction will get in the way of knowing what to do next, what to say no or yes to, knowing when it’s time to stop or change direction. 

If my only goal in writing my blog is to record my own personal family history, then so be it. If it is a way to influence or to entertain, or simply an opportunity to write on a regular basis then it’s time to declare its purpose. 

So today I find myself giving thought to the direction of this blog, and to finally begin with the end in mind. 

Evolve Don’t Revolve

 Holocaust survivor, Dr. Edith Eger has written about whether you want to “evolve or revolve” in your life?

As I thought about revolving I couldn’t help but picture the old revolving doors of my childhood that you could find at fancy department stores or office buildings downtown. Once you enter you could literally go round and round without stopping if you didn’t make the conscious effort to step out of the revolving door. 

Many times I’ve approached the new year with the greatest of aspirations only to end up basically repeating the year before. What is it they say? “Lather, rinse, repeat.”

It is easy to settle down into familiar routines. However, I don’t want to just repeat each year over and over as I have a tendency to do. 

I really am intrigued by the idea of stepping off of that revolving door, and moving forward to the next thing. 

As I thought about the new year I Initially relied on all the ways I could improve. Within a short time I had a list of what I wanted to accomplish, a list that looked strangely familiar. 

Although, I know common wisdom encourages us to set goals and work toward accomplishing them, I began to think that reaching goals was not how I wanted to spend my year. Perhaps because I felt I would fall short. 

Is reading a certain number of books more important than just reading? Is a certain number on the scale the most important way to begin your day? Is walking 10,000 steps really going to bring meaning to your life?

I believe that I have limited my evolution with these strict guidelines. Guidelines that I have attempted year after year only to fall short. 

Instead I’d like to take each day as it comes, and look for the opportunities it presents. I’d like to seek inspiration from those I meet, and act upon the things that resonate with me. I’d like to recapture that spirit of childhood where “carpe diem” really did exist. 

I’d like to learn from what I read, see and hear, and seek the company of those who have taken on evolution in their own lives. 

“According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is best able to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.” Leon C. Megginson

Refreshing

 

Welcome 2024! 

I thought I’d start the year with a little 3rd grandson story. 

Some of my best conversations with my youngest grandson happen during his diaper change. The other day as I was pulling off his diaper he reached back and pulled out a fresh diaper from the basket behind him. 

He placed it on his face and took a big sniff. I could tell by his reaction that he liked the way it smelled. I asked him if he liked it, and he said without skipping a beat, “Refreshing!”

Now what I want to know is how does a two year old know the word refreshing, and how to use it appropriately? I must admit this boy always keeps me laughing!