2018Week20-Focus How?

Truth and Grace… truth and grace…. truth and grace…. Reminds me of our (MKMMA) chants… Do It Now… do it now…. Do it now….

Hold on…. I’m having a moment …*processing*

I was going to write about how I used to go “red pencil” and talk about the less than positive feelings I have about what I am doing… BUT, the universe is exactly the way it is suppose to be… which must mean that I am exactly the way I am suppose to be!!!

So no more shoulda, coulda, woulda’s… We make decisions based on what we believe to be true. The most important being… What is most important to me today… tomorrow… next week, next month, next year… What. Do. I. Want. Notice… notice not a question…. Anymore! (Thanks Terry!). …but a focus. A focus on what is important to me.

MKMMA has taught me to be aware. The assignment was to look for Kindness(es), count them each day for the week. Got home from day one… damn…never looked for kindness. I backtracked throughout my day and was able to recognize the instances of kindness that had happened… but… something about “Living in The Moment” made me regret not being able to have instantly recognized the Kindness while it was happening. …reminds me of the woman who lives on the lake and upon being invited into her house I was drawn into her living room which sat on the lake with an amazing view…I was filled with so much happiness to have been able to witness such magnificent beauty that it brought a tear to my eyes. “What a beautiful view!” I exclaimed… to which she responded “Thank you.” I was a little taken aback… like she had something to do with it?… I remember thinking to myself. “Thank you for reminding me of what a beautiful view I have here” she replied. “It becomes taken granted for because we live here all the time.” She continued “and I made a pact with myself that every time someone comments about the beautiful view, I will take a moment or two, and focus back on the beautiful view and make believe that I am seeing it for the first time again.” How cool! …Awareness!

We have all been programmed… “As a child I was slave to my impulses; now I am slave to my habits, as are all grown men. I have surrendered my free will to the years of accumulated habits and the past deeds of my life have already marked out a path which threatens to imprison my future.” AWARENESS! No! I will NOT allow this to happen! It is up to ourselves to focus on what we want. Kindness…focus on it. Develop something to keep that focus in front of you all day. Day 2 and day 3 were repeats of day 1 for me…returning home and having forgotten to look for kindness(es). Day 4. Wrote out an index card and put it on my dashboard in my truck! In one of my stops there was a newer mechanic struggling to pull an intake apart. One of the older mechanics intervened… “Hey, can I show you a trick how to do that?” he asked. The young mechanic eagerly started nodding his head yes. As I made my way to them I told Josh, “that’s really nice of you to help him out like this.” Just his reaction to my compliment made my day. The Butterfly Effect. We have no idea of the magnitude of what we do. We can set in motion something that could create a result as huge as a butterfly fluttering its wings and setting off a tsunami on the other side of the world… but it all first starts with what we decide to focus on… and HOW we decide to focus on it.

It has been a struggle…I’m not going to lie. BUT… I don’t even know where to start with the rewards that have come to me. I think I have writingly …yup…made a new word up 😉 Processing my thinking by writing it out…most times I verbally process… just now I writingly processed what I need to do next to focus on what I want next… gonna write it out on a index card and put it where I can see it!!!

7 thoughts on “2018Week20-Focus How?”

  1. I like the index card idea! I have been struggling with virtues awareness all day, as well. I also find myself thinking back for moments of the day. I think it will help. Thanks! Also liked your flashback to scroll 1. Keep up the positive energy, it by necessity drives out the adversary of our old nature!

  2. Awareness, I love that word! How important it is to be “aware” of something as simple as the beauty of our surroundings… the beautiful neck of the woods we call home, way up on the northern border of NY and Canada. Yes, how easy it is to take things for granted?!!? Enjoyed reading your blog Ritchie 🙂 XO

  3. I like the “Truth and Grace” and repeating just as we do the “Do It Now” to inspire me to believe in and act with Truth and Grace.

  4. Johanna Baker

    Rip, thanks for writing from your heart. It is a lesson for me. I can so relate to the feelings you have had. I realize we are in a continual pattern of remembering and then forgetting and then remembering again. When you talked about kindness, I have been there done that. Thanks for your insight.
    Johanna

  5. Writingly eloquent you are Rip! I love the awareness too and the fact you are taking steps to remind yourself about the things you’ve struggled to link to and with. It’s not cheating to put that card on your dashboard! It’s just another tool to build those habits you want! Great post!
    Regards,
    Terry

Leave a Reply to Frank Vitolo Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *