Reflection and Clarity

I met with my friend, Sharon, two days ago (Friday). We had a very long lunch, and an even longer conversation at the coffee shop. Our day together was fun, relaxing, invigorating and extremely insightful as we wove in and out of two specific themes, "reflect" and "clarity". This time of year seems to inspire many of us to look over the past eleven months and assess where we are, notice our growth, and plan for change in areas that we feel need work. It is helpful to do this alone, but I have found over the years that having a friend who is insightful, open and interested in growing and developing, can really assist us in gaining the clarity that we seek in order to move forward in our lives.

So, we decided (we are both planners) that the day would be mostly one of looking ahead rather than one of hours spent dwelling on the past; a lot of change has taken place over the past two years for both of us and we wanted to be sure that we really owned our feelings and were very honest with ourselves, but then, move on to discussing how we could fine-tune the plans we have for the coming year(s). This was an excellent exercise. By reflecting on the details of the past two years (it is helpful to have a very close friend for this) we were able to pinpoint where the lessons were and why things had unfolded the way they had. This was a great opportunity to notice how unattached to various experiences we are now, and really hone in on the learning opportunities that they created - this was huge for both of us!

In addition to helping one another assess the past, we discussed and began developing clear plans for the future. We asked ourselves various questions such as, "What do I really want to be doing?", "Where do I want to focus my energy?", and then, "How will I go about making this/these things happen?" We were very specific. For example, "I am most inspired when I teach on this subject ..." and, "I am no longer going to do this and this and this just because I have always done it this way." And then, "Here's what I am going to work on this year, and this is how I will go about it". We talked about the importance of integrating our thoughts, words, and actions so that we live as authentically and mindfully as possible. By the end of this amazing day, we decided that when we meet each month we will revisit our plans and  help one another stay on track and/or make any changes that we deem necessary in order to maintain integrity. Essentially, we gave ourselves permission to be pro-active in our own lives and are holding one another accountable so that we can continue to work and practice and learn and share with others as well as maintain contentment and peace in ourselves.

Thank you Sharon, for being an awesome, honest, open, loving friend. I am excited to see what the next year will bring and am so grateful for the lessons of the past. Namaste