A firm foundation: fixing our eyes on the immovable

Photo by Martin Joos on Unsplash.

There is only one secure foundation…no matter what storms are raging. ~ Charles Stanley

While house/cat sitting for my daughter and her boyfriend, I ventured on a solo walk close to dark. Unfortunately…[read more]

New year, new you: back to the basics

Prior to Jan. 1 each year, I prepare a list of goals to aim toward over the next 365 days. This year was no different; however, come New Year’s Day, I abandoned several of my plans to focus on immediate, more pressing needs: my relational, mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. Although fraught with copious amounts of kicking and screaming, my resolve birthed a new plan to Let go and let God, if you will. Once I stripped away the myriad tasks that occupy my planner and relinquished control of outcome-driven objectives—in other words, after I surrendered my own agenda—I returned to the basics that I write about in “Falling into place…” Not only have I been blessed with second chances, but a foundation has been laid so that, when it’s time to revisit my original goals—maybe where I left off, maybe somewhere different—I’ll be ready. As a new and improved version of me.

What new goals, if any, have you begun in 2018?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Celebrating small victories

At the beginning of August 2015, I rejoined a local gym. Weight training and cardio added the balance I sought to complement my regular practice of yoga. But, it had been over a year since I’d worked out and, in my overzealousness, I pulled a couple ‘somethings.’ Whether at the gym or at the Bikram studio, I now felt like a beginner all over again. At one point I thought I might need to quit yoga as I found little to no relief in the asanas. I decided to stick it out, however. Days turned into weeks turned into months. Nearly a half year later, I’ve begun to recognize miniscule improvement while on my mat. Each time I show up, I discover a new victory. I can see it in my relationships, too. Gradual progress is in the works, even when I observe nothing. And, with each small victory, a stronger foundation is built. Now that is cause for celebration.

How do you celebrate the smallest of victories?

Image courtesy of noppasinw at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

If you build it, they will come

[Image credit: renjith krishnan]

In yesterday’s post All it takes is a solid foundation, I mention that this — a solid foundation — is where everything worthwhile begins.  But there’s a whole lot that goes on in between laying the groundwork for success and arriving at the end result (preferably unscathed).  Whatever it is, whether a friendship, marathon, undergraduate program or a dream your future is hitched to, it takes a continuous supply of building blocks to get there.  Your tools may consist of such qualities as open and honest communication, or (blood), sweat and tears (for my fellow writers out there), or maybe hours of research and hard labor.  And perhaps compromise is the mortar which holds it all together.  No one way of building up to our personalized Somedays looks the same for the next person.  But if we don’t rush, and do it right the first time, I imagine only preventive maintenance, rather than a major renovation, will be necessary.  Sounds like a sure-fire way to successfully navigate the blueprints of our lives.

What kind of tools are you using to build your future?