Live this day

By Chris Trout | January 20, 2008

I was deeply moved by a feature story on CBS Sunday Morning about artist Jim Denevan. Denevan creates massive and beautiful artwork in the sand on ocean beaches. These are exquisite pieces etched in the sand with rakes and sticks, only to be washed away with the next tide.

As I watched Denevan at work, immersed in the step by step creation of his art, I thought, "What a metaphor for living an awake life." To wake up in the morning and live the day completely in the moment - seeing and creating beauty without focus on what came before or what will happen next - is to be awake and alive. If we could live in this kind of presentness, I suspect I would be out of a job, for seeing the beauty in ourselves and in others would not be tainted with our judgment of their/our past, or fears of what it all means to the future. 

Might we see beauty and vulnerability and hope - and act accordingly?

Imagine.

Comment on this entry

Intentions

By Chris Trout | January 4, 2008

It seems like fewer and fewer people actually make New Year's resolutions these days. Perhaps we have become jaded, disappointed with our ability to follow through. Perhaps we think that NOT making resolutions is the best way to avoid disappointment. Resolutions have gotten such a bad rap, both in the press and in our own heads, that it seems downright foolish to believe in our own intentions.

But without believing, faith, willingness to risk disappointment, how do we grow? Even more important, how do we invite magic into our lives? So, in the name of believing in the power of intetion, I share with you mine. In 2008, I intend to believe in myself and the perfection of the world around me enough to…

1. Write - every day, no matter what - and entrust my work to a major publisher.
2. Speak in as many venues as possible, confident that this message of embracing paradox, cutting through the clutter and seeing the beauty in ourselves and others (especially children and youth) does, in fact, change lives (as so many of you have shared with me).
3. Be quiet.
4. Let go of beliefs about the "right" things to do (which change with each new piece of advice) and do what feels right to me.
5. Invest fully in the now, simply observing, rather than investing in, those thoughts that repeat themselve inceasantly in my head.
6. Invite, allow and give thanks for the abundance in my life.
7. Give away the abundance that comes my way - thus keeping it in circulation.
8. BE an abundant source of love, joy, vitality, insight and beauty.
9. Laugh - a lot.
10. Do more of what is easy and works - and less of what is hard and doesn't work. 
11. Be simple - mostly by being fully present with the people around me.

These are mine. What are yours? 

Comment on this entry