... and Do It On Purpose
(2 minutes reading)
I remember standing at the top of the mountain, looking out over the jagged rocks to the curious terrain below. I remember the unique lighting of the setting sun punctuating the distant hazy shroud. I remember the awe of being in the presence of vast beauty with great perspective. I remember the rush of having reached the peak with scant minutes to spare; watching my boys excitedly explore all the nooks and crannies (and, as always, discover a new critter) while impatiently waiting for the last of the setting sun. I remember the quiet whispers of the people around me. This was too big to disturb. I remember the edginess of the choice to be here at this moment—while there would be other people descending the mountain with us after sunset, we didn’t know that on our ascent AND we didn’t personally have flashlights–we had just come upon this moment on a barely-informed whim and went for it. I remember the aliveness of making such a choice, feeling my fulfilled need for adventure pulsing electric and expansive through my heart and arms and setting my legs with grounded resolve.
Have you ever done that? Have you ever been in an experience and tried to remember EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL? Have you demanded an indelible imprint because you were certain you needed to live this moment again and again?
This is the power of APPLIED mindful living. Bringing this level of awareness and PRESENCE to our life CHANGES EVERYTHING. Clients come with the same goal: somehow, some way, they want to change their life. So when the time comes to commit to action, no matter how big or small, they will always hear my resounding support followed immediately by the words:
“…and do it on purpose.”
You see, I did that moment in Shenandoah on purpose. I could have just arrived, watched a sunset, and ran down the mountain in the last of the waning light toward safety, rushed, but at least not lost in the Appalachian woods. I even could have not gone up the mountain—too risky! Instead, I chose to engage with risk and be fully present to it. I sat in the experience, breathed it into every cell, and memorized all the subtleties of the felt sense of the moment–not from the brain but from deep body knowing. I am now forever changed. I will always carry this physiological and neurological imprint of connection to something greater than me because I took a risk and I did it on purpose.
What would it be like to live your daily life that way? Would you like to learn?
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