Appreciating the ordinary.

We went on a walk through the woods today, near the James. Maybe 2 hours? Sunshine, a light breeze, and family on what felt more like Fall than the first few days of winter. During the walk, I started to think about intentions, and the coming year. I used to make resolutions, but we all know how resolutions fall to the wayside (and are based on the assumption that we are not good enough, which is a whole other issue). 

I didn’t come up with anything, but I’m not worried. Intentions have a way of arising naturally, in the moment, through giving space for you heart to speak.

During my walk, I did realize that I’ve recently started down the “achievement will validate me!” path again, an old habit. I’m sure we can all recognize the signs, though they take many forms. It could be constantly seeking out the next workshop or training, as if collecting credit hours will make you an enlightened student/teacher/etc… It could be planning your own business because you have to do “more” or be “great” or change the world. It doesn’t have to have a consumerist-slant of becoming the next CEO, trying to be the next John Friend or Seane Corne, the next Mother Teresa or Gandhi… It’s the same thing. It’s thinking that your service, as it is, is not enough. That you  must be more, do more, be greater, save more. It’s still achievement, it’s still external validation. We all do it. Our culture encourages it, and it can become second nature.

What struck me is how I lose appreciation for the ordinary when I get sucked into it. I lose appreciation for the quiet moments, like walks with the family or a short yoga practice at home. I lose appreciation for my life, because life really is nothing but a series of moments, passing quietly by.