Be Deliberate, but Be Fluid

To Act, and Not be Acted Upon~

There is a concept I love within my own religious beliefs, and it is that we were created as human beings to "Act," and not be "Acted Upon." We have the choice each day to let things just happen to us, or approach the day with intention. Why? Because we have freedom to choose in the first place. We have the gift of agency in this life, and we will either live deliberately, or not.

Could you ever climb a mountain if you did not choose to put one foot forward after the other step after step until you reached the top? You could just as easily choose to sit at the bottom and wait for someone to carry you. 

So when I get up in the morning and just allow things to come at me as if I were some kind of goalie waiting for the next ball to hit--after awhile I start to see that I'm just standing there in the same place I started, and never made any steps across the field that day. I'm speaking very figuratively, but in a more literal sense, if I allow the demands of people in my life, even the people I love to be what I am constantly setting aside my own needs for, it gets exhausting! Any mother knows that feeling well when you're showering at 4:00 in the afternoon because you've been running around for everyone else all day in your PJs...we all do this. Right?  

So--being deliberate and intentional about making plans, meeting your own needs, and accomplishing something because you purely wanted to--not because you were told to, is where I feel most free. It's something I need to do to feel sane really. 

Coming Back to Balance~

If I lived the way I am describing all the time, I'd be pretty selfish. In fact, there are times when if I "go with the flow" and stop battling against the current I'm so much happier, because I'm thinking of others, and THEIR needs.  Let's say my boy asks me to play a game, but I've planned to make lasagne--so I say "maybe later..."

Or maybe he says "Mom, we can we go to the dollar store?" I say "Yes." Then I go, and realized he just saved me time because I needed to run that errand right away and didn't even know it yet. 

When I had a clock in/clock out kind of employment I remember times I'd get my schedule that was posted for the month and be surprised that my hours changed. I didn't usually fight it. Almost always it ended up working out to my own benefit for a reason I couldn't foresee.  For these reasons given by example, we can see that being fluid is just as important as being intentional. 

So next time you place your feet down on the yoga mat--place them deliberately but also remember the fluidity of the practice.