Profound preceded Twitter

For the past several years I’ve been subscribing to several inspirational or spiritual daily quotes.  Some are just the quote, some have the quote and then a short story or explanation that helps us to understand them and be able to embrace them in our lives.  They are designed to touch us in some way, to spark something in us that nurtures us, causes us to change, to move from where we are. 


What I’ve begun to notice is that long before Twitter, great minds realized the value of being profound in a few simple but powerful words.  Most of these quotes are fewer than twelve words.  With Twitter for example, communications researcher Friedhelm Hillebrand determined most sentences ended up less than 160 characters.  This discovery led to text messages being 160 characters and tweets being 140 characters (the remaining 20 characters are for the user's unique address).  Would this be the profound quote version of a tweet? Perhaps because of these daily messages I’ve begun to notice short and profound quotes in so many other areas of my life where someone is trying to make a point.  


So how does this relate to the awareness of transformation and for the transformation itself?  I’ve noticed my transformation hasn’t been a big thing that really hits me or where I wake up one day and there is a flashing sign saying “You need to do this”.  I’ve noticed it’s a lot of little things, profound things, things in many areas of my life that, like a profound quote aren’t big but are designed to touch me, nurture me, change my perspective and cause me to move from where I am.

What's "mid-life crisis" got to do with this?

First of all, who knows when mid-life is?  If  I'm 55 and I say I'm in a "mid-life crisis", does that mean I'm going to live to be 110?


8 track tapes have come and gone.  They served a purpose for a time, but they don't bring value anymore.  The concept of a "mid-life crisis", the easy label people use as a catch-all for so many things, doesn't solve anything.  Not only that, but why should the transitions in our lives be considered a crisis?  


I googled "mid-life crisis".  There were 6.9 million hits.  When I clicked on some of the links, it reminded me of the requirement to list all potential side effects of a medication.  I couldn't believe all the different categories that were identified as possible signs of a "mid-life crisis".  I did not see missing a dental appointment as one of them, but there were some listed that were just as out of line.


Go ahead, google mid-life crisis and see all the negativity associated with it and then come back here.  We're going to have a great time that will just keep getting better and better!  By the way, did you notice I didn't even give it the credit of a link?  I don't think it deserves it.


This is the only time I'm going to give "mid-life crisis" publicity in my transformation discussions.  This transformation is an awakening, an exciting part of our journey, and it's not going to get lumped in to some convenient catch-all that, at some point in the past, may have had value.


It's time to change our perspective and transform our lives!

When the student is ready...

I have heard, been told, and used the saying "When the student is ready, the teacher appears" many times in my life.  Often I have been a good candidate to be a student but wasn't ready.  It was something I used to recognize after I was in the learning process or reflecting on what I had learned, but rarely ahead of time.


I used to have laser focus on what I was doing, my goals, and where I wanted to be.  What I included and excluded in my life were very clear and I was comfortable with things just as they were.  In the past few years this has become unclear in some areas.


What I've finally learned is the discomfort and lack of clarity with what used to be so clear actually has a very clear purpose.  The student IS ready.  Now it's exciting seeking the teachers, it's time for me to try new things until my vision is clear.  Like the optometrist who keeps adjusting the lenses on each and both eyes until each and both see clearly, it's ok to have blurry vision for awhile, but not to settle for it. Little adjustments lead finally to clarity.


I work with the optometrist until my vision is clear, now I seek teachers until my vision is clear - the student is ready.