So as some of you know, for myself, I’ve subtitled the year 2017 as “the year of Intention.” As much as I consciously can, on a daily basis, I am making choices regarding what I want to do, but more importantly, how I want to feel, how I want to show up in every situation.
For those who are rolling their eyes right now, that’s ok. I’m here to say that for me, it’s not easy. What’s “easy” is to let every day just happen. To let yourself be carried like the wind and react in every moment, when things aren’t turning out the way you’d like. Sometimes the stars align, and the wind may carry us forward to beautiful places and satisfying circumstances. But most of the time, Yoga has taught me that it’s about getting on your mat consistently – even when you don’t feel like it (Read: discipline); doing what feels right in your gut (Read: intuition); keep learning all the time (Read: work and personal development); share as much as you can with others (Read: give, connect) and in every moment, feeling empowered to make a choice for myself (Read: stop blaming external forces).
Over the holidays, as my work schedule slowed down, I was able to spend extra time with the few clients that were still in town and coming to see me. After a particular yoga session, one newer client (in her late 40’s, full time working mom) was talking to me about all her health issues, her “workaholic” husband who was never home, her challenges with her aging parents, and her feeling of living in stress every minute of every day. As we sat down over a cup of tea, we compared notes and talked about how our society encourages much of how we run our lives every day. We commented sadly, how it is that we can “have” so much around us, and yet still feel stressed and sometimes unhappy.
What my client said to me next, is literally why I do what I do with such passion, and where my satisfaction comes from.
She recounted that we had bumped into each other at a coffee shop over a year ago, that she had told me she’d heard I was teaching Yoga and that she was really interested, and that she had listed a whole bunch of reasons she couldn’t do it at that time. She claims that I told her “I believe that you feel that way, however when you decide that you’re important enough to take care of, as important as all those other things you take care of, you’ll call me and I’ll be really happy to see you.”
When I think about it, for sure she could have thought it was plainly rude. Telling her I didn’t really believe her reasons. But she understood. She told me that my words stayed with her for at least the last year, and she realized that the reason it bothered her so much is that they were true. Until she made a decision … and here she was in front of me.
2017 for me is about Intention. This automatically puts US in the drivers seat. I don’t care how many things you have going on in your life, it’s up to you to decide that your mental and physical and psychological well being, are worth your time. It need not be Yoga. This is about saying that you love yourself enough to take care of yourself. If I impact one person a year in this way, my job satisfaction is at 100%!
The intention must be there first. The action may follow. Sometimes … a year or so later ♥