Just because it's shiny

It's hard to stay on track.

First of all, you have to have a track. That's not so easy. You've got to figure out what animates you, makes your heart sing. Basically, you've got to find your soul. Having found it, you need to figure out how to create a life around it. How to spend your time. With whom to associate. How to earn a living...

BTW, I'm not saying you ought to pick a track and stick with it forever. You should always re-assess what you're all about. As Emerson famously said "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..." Your track needn't have been foolish from inception but as times change (and as you change), it may become foolish and obsolete. So no, don't pick a path and stubbornly follow it forever. But you should always be on some path. Know who and what you are and have a plan for being that. [Similar to Gretchen Rubin's "Be Gretchen" rule.]

And then you have to stay on track. And staying on track is really hard. Much like holding reservations after you've taken them.



You see, shiny objects are going to appear as you move through life attempting to manifest your soul in all that you do. Those shiny objects can be large and very shiny such as beautiful women or men that look so delicious but are all wrong for you, financial opportunities or jobs that can be lucrative but which will take you further from your soul... Or, they can be small and just sparkle a little bit when you're at a moment of weakness. A brief opportunity to say something hurtful to someone you'd really like to hurt, a chance to not tell someone something they ought to hear but which will be difficult to say, even parking in a handicapped spot for just 2 minutes.

But you've got to ignore the shiny objects. They aren't good for you. They will destroy your life. Because your life is entirely about your soul. The rest of it is all about enabling the soul. And the problem is that the soul is not subject to apprehension by the senses while all of the other stuff looks so vivid, smells so delicious, tastes...oh man how it tastes! But those things are not real the way your soul is.

So find a way. Muster the courage to ignore the shiny object in an effort to burnish your soul.

In apppreciation of Gretchen Rubin

I recently wrote about the fact that I haven't felt much like writing lately. Well that hasn't changed but the silver lining, if there is one, is that I am still inspired to read.

I'd like to point your attention to one of the things I'm reading now. It's The Happiness Project from Gretchen Rubin. This project seems exactly as big and noble as it sounds. She's trying to define happiness, chronicle her path towards happiness, encourage conversation about happiness and light the way for the rest of us.

This is really important stuff.

Her writing can pass itself off as non-controversial apple-pie. At times it feels a bit trite. But like a fine wine or a good piece of leather, with the passage of time and as you let your senses roam over it - and let it roam over your senses - you uncover complexities and contours that did not, at first, reveal themselves. There is profound wisdom in much of what she writes. You will also, on occasion see Gretchen's intellectual and academic background poke through. Which makes her writing even more enjoyable for me.

I really encourage everyone to read the blog, sign up for her RSS feed and in whatever virtual way feels best, sit at Gretchen's feet and learn.

Check out The Happiness Project by clicking here and check out Gretchen's website here.