RE-Setting Intentions

RE-Setting Intentions

It has been nearly two months since the year has taken off. Where are you on your intentions?

I struggle every year on the first of the year; it can be the most defining day for some and damaging in ways of lofty expectations that we and our culture put on ourselves.

One day is not going to change our life forever.
One day isn't going to have all the answers to fix every little thing that we thought was wrong with our journey previously.

This year, I was stunned how many people were hosting vision, collaging and intention workshops. I have been doing so for over 25 years; remembering it was like pulling teeth to get people interested enough to attend in those beginning years. Today, there are too many to count from that I actually decided against hosting. I was concerned in what I was seeing as an unrealistic buildup of this mystical answer to one's perceived problems.

So, today, I am writing to check in with folks. I am wondering how you are doing two months into the year?
Are your intentions guiding you in the direction you had hoped for?
Or are they continuing to put unrealistic pressures on you?
Have you found a middle ground that works for you and your path?
Or are you struggling to find a balance amidst expectations?

The bottom line is that you are not alone in whichever direction you are walking towards in your intentions. I don’t know a person on this path that could tell you everything is measuring out exactly how they planned for themselves in the new year. That is just not the norm. We as humans are meant to fail, to struggle, to constantly pick ourselves up and grow from the experiences we face day to day.

I am not saying that it is fail proof to set a goal and create a vision. Neither am I saying to walk through life blindly with no focus. I am just saying that it is wise to understand that you can re-set at any point as many times as you need to while walking through this life.

When we change our focus and mentality in this way, we are more likely to find the direction that is meant to fill our soul and guide us to our true path. We are breathing through the process, rather than rushing to a finish line.

This vision collage is our family collage. We as a family make a vision for the year, and then as individuals collage a mandala for our personal path. It tells a story with each person in the family's hopes, wishes and directions for the year ahead. But here is the thing; this isn't our only one. Every week my teens must make an affirmation card on an index card with the same format for their week ahead. They make collage and vision mandalas on their birthdays, at the beginning and end of the school year and often on other holidays as well. It is a practice, not a one-time thing. They have been doing this before they could read with images and once they could read with words. Sometimes the vision is so personal to talk about that this format allows for their inner most desires to shine through.

Let's get real, do they bitch and moan about it? Sure, they are teenagers. But if you were to see their private spaces in their room you would see all these collages stored in their sacred space that we each have. At times they will talk about them and even mention when they see some things coming to fruition. I am hoping that I am instilling a practice that will guide them for the journey when I am not there asking them how they are doing with what they have on their path.
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Consider it. Consider making intentions a practice instead of a novelty. You have the power to re-set your journey as often as you need to. You are the author of your path and only you.