attention / intention / moderation
As a group of us virtual students from all over the world began the wrap-up of December classes with our teacher Nikki, she A. encouraged us to end the year with energy for 2024, and B. asked us to reflect on what our energy went toward in 2023.
I suppose a personal topic I’ve put my energy toward exploring this past year (the past many years?) is balance, which I suppose is a result of feeling pretty off-balance – especially post-2020 (a common theme, maybe?).
We all know what it’s like for our energy to feel super-focused when we’re doing something of importance (like staying grounded while hiking a steep trail, building something, filling out an important document, performing a dance or inversion or monologue), or doing something / being with someone we love (completing a puzzle, getting lost in a film, playing with a pet, watching a sunset).
Maybe then our physical and mental energy feels fulfilled, stable, balanced.
We all also probably know what it’s like to lose energy or focus when we’re doing something of importance or doing something / being with someone we love. Maybe we misstep, misunderstand or misread something (literally or energetically), make an error (whether we can rectify it or not), react out of fear or grief or fatigue.
Maybe then our physical and mental energy spirals downward along with our mood, confidence, commitment (all part of the human experience, no?).
Per Nikki’s inquiry: we can choose where we guide our energy, and sometimes it ends up going more toward one thing than the other, whether it’s over (or under) working, sleeping, exercising, dating, eating, thinking, spending, social media-ing, collecting…
*Enjoy my free guide with gifts that help cultivate balance of mind, body and planet.
Any of these topics or lifestyle practices – from health-conscious to career-driven to family-focused habits – can remain balanced (ish) when we aim (wait for it…) our mental energy toward cultivating more:
Awareness (what are you doing?)
Intention (why are you doing it?)
Moderation (how are you doing it?)…
Click here to read the full post (and subscribe) on Substack.
Photo: My friend Carla guided us to the top of several mountains this summer, where most of my energy went toward not falling… worth it.
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