I Choose... My "Why"

I Choose... My "Why"

Hello my friends!

Well, I said that I just might send something out before January 1st, and here I am... I've been watching a particular video over and over again because I find that it compels me to look within myself and ask a hugely important question. And the more I ask it, the deeper I go, and the "bigger" the answer becomes. What's the question? First, I'd like to share the 3 1/2 minute long video that has prompted it, and I really - strongly - encourage you to go and watch it.

WHY am I doing this? WHY am I doing this particular thing that I'm doing right now? WHY am I getting up at 4:00am to work out? WHY am I going to work every day? WHY am I letting go of a church activity that I truly love? WHY am I cleaning my house? WHY am I here in my office doing this work when I could be relaxing on the couch with my husband? WHY am I writing this letter to this young man or that young woman in prison? WHY am I working on this new book or on revising that one? WHY am I doing this thing that I'm doing right now? WHY is THIS important to me?

I really encourage you to watch the video and then ask your own self the question: What is my WHY?

The mom who just left her abusive partner, as she finds herself in a shelter... she knows WHAT she has done. Her WHY is so much more important.

The domestic violence advocate who works in that same shelter... she knows WHAT her job is. Her WHY is so much more important.

The police officer who patrols the streets... he or she knows WHAT they are doing. Their WHY is so much more important.

The man who volunteers his time at the homeless shelter...

The philanthropist who works tirelessly to serve his favorite charity...

The mom or dad who stays home with the kids. The teacher who sacrifices so much of him-or herself to be a good one. The alcoholic. The artist. The inmate. The banker. The retiree. The minister. The drug addict. The author. The boxer. The blogger. The food binger. The activist. The judge. The politician. The house painter. The student. The military man or woman. The bus driver.

No matter who you are or what you're doing. Your WHY has so much more meaning than your WHAT! And I'm not just talking about the positive, altruistic kind of "why," either. I'm talking about the negative and pain-generated ones, too.

I think that choosing to find - and EXPRESS - our chosen WHY could very likely be the most valuable thing we could ever give both to ourselves and to the world. I think I love that video so much because it demonstrates so beautifully the difference in expression between just knowing what we're doing, and then finding out why we're doing it. Just beautiful. And so powerful.

So here is my "I Choose..." at least for this week, and possibly for the rest of this month as I'm REALLY ramping up to my plans for 2016:

I Choose... to KNOW my "WHY"

As I live the rest of this month, I choose to pay attention - in the midst of each and every activity - to the WHY that I am coming from. I choose to pay attention to, and acknowledge, my EMOTIONAL MOTIVATION (whether positive or negative) for doing whatever it is that I am doing. And I choose to go as deep as I need to, to find the real answer and - if I don't like the answer that I find - change it. If I DO like the answer that I find, I choose to cultivate it, and nurture it, and invest myself in deepening, strengthening, and expressing it freely and authentically.

This is my current "I Choose..."

I invite you to join me if you'd like to! :-)

Love to you all,
Sandi