Are you content to be flying on autopilot?

“There’s nothing more important than knowing where you’re going.”

J.J. Abrams

There is an old saying that “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Unfortunately, life can be a lot like this. If one isn’t careful, the autopilot feature can kick on, and suddenly, you’ll look around and realize time has passed by and you can’t remember how you got to where you are, and if you even want to be there! 

Oh, how easy it is to slip into this trap of an autopilot life where every day is a repeat of the last, a myriad of fires to be put out, and a never-ending stream of moles that must be whacked.  

What is the antidote to an seemingly automatic life? Where is the off switch that puts you back in the driver’s seat, intentionally driving to the correct destination? For me, it starts with a focus on my Faith. When I am paying attention to the purpose of my life and why God has put me down a particular path, the road seems clear. When I allow myself to be in charge or think that I am in control, suddenly the world is a little less clear, and the destination less confident.  

Find your path, set your destination, align with drives you, check the map regularly and turn off your autopilot. The next year will fly by; you might as well get somewhere on purpose.  

Learning to love less…

“The less I needed, the better I felt.”

Charles Bukowski

Over the past six months, I have chosen to put down my daily blogging habit. It happened because I missed a few days due to work; there was just too much going on at the moment in July when I last posted regularly. Over these past five months, something has been missing, and it wasn’t that I needed more time; I needed more intentionality with my time. I have realized how much I enjoyed writing for 15-30 minutes each day and reflecting on the meaning of a particular quote. I genuinely don’t know how many people, if any, read this blog regularly. But that isn’t why I write. I write because it is a meaningful use of time for me. It creates focus and discipline in my life. 

What does that have to do with today’s quote? Perhaps not much at all. But as I reflect on the year behind and make plans for the year ahead, it is apparent that less is truly more. The fewer distractions one has, the more focused you can be on the things that really matter. The better people that you have surrounded yourself with in life, the more impact you can have for others.  

As I wrap up 2021 and reflect on all the changes that the past year has carried, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn the value of less. I am excited about what is to come in 2022 and opportunities to serve more people in a balanced and intentional manner. It starts with picking up an old habit and writing again. It’s good to be back.  

Are you waiting for a bus?

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.”

Margaret Shepherd

What exactly are you waiting on? The perfect moment of inspiration? Ideal conditions? The stars to align? What are you going to do if your “bus” doesn’t come?

Sometimes you have to lean in, lean forward, and leap.

What is your most important next step?

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am continually amazed at how things work out for good when you step forward, serve others, and put your energy towards positive things. Taking the step of embracing a servant’s heart and putting your actions ahead of your words are two of the most important thing one can ever do in life.  

Living in this manner is what helps build the staircase…  

Is your confidence driving or limiting your capacity?

“As is our confidence, so is our capacity.”

William Hazlitt

Do you have the confidence to take that step into the unknown? What additional wisdom, information or insight do you need to be able to take action?

Faith is either the governor or the accelerant for our lives. If you believe you can, then you will base your efforts on those beliefs. If you lack faith, then you will always struggle to find confidence. In this case, your capacity is correlated to the strength of your faith. What’s holding you back?

Do you have faith?

“Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart.”

Steve Jobs

Sometimes we humans can try so hard to force things into the way we want them to be or how we think they should be. Peace of mind and heart comes from knowing there are greater purposes and plans for our lives. These Bible verses came to mind as I meditated on the quote this morning.

‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’ Romans 8:28

‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ Hebrews 11:1

Faith is the glue that allows one not only to believe that the dots will connect, but it is also what enables one to see how the dots have already connected throughout your life. Take a few minutes and reflect on how the dots have joined together to lead you to where you are right now.

Understanding the connections that have already happened for you, how can you not follow your heart forward? Have faith and trust…

Because of faith, you can have hope…

“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”

Helen Keller

Hope – Seeing what isn’t there – yet…

Hope – Feeling that you are on the right path, even when no evidence exists to substantiate that fact.  

Hope – Achieving the impossible comes as a result of persevering through the doubts and the trials.

Faith – What gives hope its legs…

The first step is done in faith…

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes it is best not to see the whole staircase that lies in front of us. The number of stairs or the steepness of the climb might intimidate us into not starting at all.  

The most powerful thing we will ever do is seize the opportunity to take that first step in faith, trusting that it is taking the action that truly matters.  

What important decision lies before you? Have faith, take the step, trust your choice.

Today is a treasure…

“Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don’t rent them out to tomorrow.”

Jerry Spinelli

Yesterday I had a great conversation with a trusted mentor and he shared with me an epiphany that he had in the last week about our desire to “get back to normal.” The realization that he shared is that we can spend all our time and energy now trying to get back to once was, without ever thinking through the more important question of “what should be?” We can also spend all our time worrying about what might happen, and comparing our tomorrow’s to the expectations of yesterday.

I really found his thinking to be both provocative and insightful. It caused me to reflect on and think about these verses from the book of Luke.

‘And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.‘ Luke 12:22-23,25-26,33-34

It is so easy to focus on what “we are missing out on RIGHT NOW” instead of reveling in the unique and special gifts of the current moment. It is also so easy to focus so forcefully on the promise of tomorrow that we see past the beauty right in front of us.

We are all experiencing a unique and challenging time, filled with uncertainty, the loss of freedom and disruptive change to almost every aspect of our lives. So many people have been affected in tremendous and tragic ways. It can be hard to see brightness and joy when so much of the conversation is dominated by the bad news and the comparison to “what was” and “what might be.”

If we all aren’t careful we could miss out on the precious gift of each moment that we are alive. We could lose the opportunity to make this current moment different and powerful. We put at risk the opportunity to make a difference and serve others. And that is a treasure that we truly don’t want to give away…

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dusty

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