September 25th, 2014

 

 

26/9/14  How to get things done.

 

Tomorrow. After the holiday. Or maybe the next day. After summer, then.

When I’m less busy. When the winter comes. When  I get the car sorted. In November, when I give up drinking for a month. After Christmas, no point now, with all the parties on.

In January. That’s a great month. New year, whole new outlook. That’ll be it. In February, when the Spring is starting. March, March was always a good month for me. Spring inspires me, longer evenings, brighter mornings, something about Spring. Really looking forward to it.

After Easter. Easter’s late this year, it’s nearly on the May weekend. After that. I’ll be motivated then.

 I’ll want to be in shape for the holiday. Beach body. No point in peaking too soon. 

When the kids are off school, then we’ll be able to organise. Gosh, that was quick. Can’t be holidays already. Better start tomorrow, well, hold on, maybe after the holiday…………ring a bell?

 

24/9/13    Simple courage.

Talking with a man a few days ago, he remarked how he had come through a tough time, and how he had dealt with it.

For me, the essence of his achievement was not just that he’d dealt with it, but had emerged with a good humour, no resentment, and an outlook that was as warm and open as ever, if a bit wary.

I ‘m  not sure if I’d mentioned this before, but there are people all round us, some of them experiencing the most insufferable, daunting, overwhelming circumstances. We don’t see these people, hear them, or read about them, but they’re there, just getting on with their lives.

What strikes me about them is their courage. Without exception, every one of them speaks about how they  work on it, constantly, a refreshing trait. There isn’t a hint, not the faintest whiff, of self pity, or self agrandisement. Occasionally a spark of anger ignites, but never with circumstances, more to do with some aspect of self criticism, or a careless incompetence, than anything else.

But what’s really interesting is the practical use to which they’ve put the simple principles of mindful awareness. Day after day, these people perform  the simple rituals of self preparation. They understand the principles of training the mind, to teach themselves, how best to function.

That quiet, constant wilfulness, brought about by a gentle but regular discipline, becomes habit, which then

becomes instinctive, doesn’t preclude problems, difficulties, challenges that have to be faced.

But it does make one hell of a change in the response to them. The knee jerk reaction, the churned stomach,

the breathless helplessness, the dread, are all gone. Because the physical reaction is calm, so too is the mental state; the fear, the doubt, the awful uncertainty about what to do. Which means that the abilities, the resources, with which they’ve been endowed, can be accessed. And while that may not solve any problem immediately, it helps them cope. And that’s often the start of finding a solution.

For further information on the skill, and the art, of mindful awareness, shttp://davidhegarty.weebly.com/shop.html