Retreat to Win!

We all need a place to run to. Far from the madding crowd. Far from the mayhem of the mundane, the chaos of the common, the dogma of popular opinion. A place where our hearts are authentic and true, where we are attuned to our purpose, our passions are fueled and our flames ignited, where dreams and visions are vivid and alive...where possibilities are endless.

Indeed it is important that we meet each day with resolve and purpose, for it is in each today that our tomorrows are decided. But there comes a time when our resolve must be to seek peace, to be at one with self, to shut out the influences that would pull us outside of who we are. And we find that our place of peace, our place of retreat is our place of power. Do not think for a moment that to retreat is to yield the battle to those who contend with us. To retreat is to be at one with self...to shut out the dissonance, to erase the desire to strive, to understand the power of attracting by becoming. For to retreat is to harness the power of becoming.

For some this retreat is a place - a literal week-end or holiday get-away. For others it's a diary....a private log, hidden from the scrutiny of judgment... for some its a book, a movie in which they imagine themselves the hero or heroine; still for others it's a person- a soul-mate who sees the sorrow behind their smile, feels the love that their anger veils, or understands the reason behind their silence. I don't know what it is for you.......may be meditation, personal devotion..... but what I do know is that we all need to be intentional about finding a place to run to....away from expectations and inhibitions and headlong into freedom and empowerment.

And let's be clear on this....I speak not of potentially addictive behaviours .....be they positive or negative. Neither do I speak of sojourns into self-pity. I speak of rest and refueling, of meditation and empowerment, of uplifting conversation and reflection, of self-examination and re-purposing. It's about giving yourself permission to meet life again at full force after each whirlwind experience, or powering up to face the approaching storm...and knowing that it's okay. It's part of your game-plan. It's your strategy for winning in your own race....

Change is up to You!

A thousand times you've wished things were different. I know. But I also know that even with the best intentions, wishing won't change anything. "Nothing will change until you change." That's the long and short of it. There was a time when I thought there was very little that I could do to change my circumstances....after all, I have no control over the seasons or the wind so the best I could do was curse at them. But then I learnt to read the seasons and how to turn the sails in the wind. I learnt that there are very few things in life that are pre-ordained; very few things over which we have no control. Everything else is a matter of choice, and I get to make that choice. I have the power. It was simply a matter of owning that - taking personal responsibility for creating change in my life.

But I've also learnt that it's easier said than done. I've learnt that the discipline required to create that change does not come by osmosis. I've learnt that desire (no matter how strong) is not enough to fuel that change. I've come to realize that motivation and inspiration die without constant attention. And, probably most importantly, the years have taught me that if your vision of the future is not big enough and compelling enough to provide the fire for today's engagement, change will always remain an elusive dream. Without a doubt, we must believe in the possibility, even likelihood of change. But patience must indeed be our first work, our quiet study, for without it very little can be achieved.

The truth is, there are too few of us who have accepted the mantle of personal responsibility for bringing about change in our own lives. Blaming the government, the school system, our employers become a convenient excuses. Being able to point that finger somehow absolves of us the responsibility, but more importantly it robs us of the opportunity to become the kind of person necessary to create a more meaningful existence....to become better, wiser, stronger. The people who have been successful at rising above their paltry existence are those who accept the challenge to get up off their laurels and meet life head on...despite the difficulties; those who have challenged themselves to grow; those who have been deliberate in choosing the philosophies on which to build their lives and have allowed those philosophies to fuel a positive attitude; those who have  set themselves goals and taken decided, deliberate action towards their achievement. Those are they who have evidenced change, seen the results and now live exceptional lives.

"If it's going to be, it's up to me," is as good a mantra to hold to now as any. Only you have the power to create the change that you want to see. And that change will never happen until you change.....your philosophies, your attitude, your activities (or lack thereof). We all have to own change. It's not up to the government, our parents, our children or our bosses. It's that next book you read. It's that next class you take. It's that fight you refrain from picking, it's your ego released into oblivion. It's recognizing that you have the power....and that claiming that power and experiencing the resulting change is entirely up to you.