Taking Enlightened Action

Are you being the person you want to become?  If not, what’s holding you back? 

Maybe you believe that the person you want to become is somewhere out in the future.  She isn’t.  She’s already in you.  She IS you.  Remember who you are.  You already have everything you need. 

Maybe you know you are already the person you want to become, but you’re still making choices that don’t align with this version of you.  Pay attention to your choices.  Use that practice you’ve identified that helps you become still and listen for the answers you already have inside.

Once you are crystal clear on that person you want to become AND that you are ALREADY that person, you can take that one next step to live as the person you already are.  This step may be to BE more compassionate with yourself and with others.  It may be to DO some action that moves you closer to that best version of yourself.  Have you done that one thing?  If you have, you are taking enlightened action.  If you haven’t, when will you start? 

Pema Chodron has a book called Becoming Bodhisattvas that is based on an ancient Buddhist text.  It is all about living with courage, generosity, patience, fearlessness, and compassion.  The Bible lists the fruit of the spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  See the similarities?  There must be something to these characteristics, when two such different traditions share so many of them.  If you don’t know that there is a specific action you need to take, you could always consider setting an intention and working towards being more of one of these characteristics. 

There are sometimes in life where you really won’t know the very next step, until you take the first one.  It’s like walking on a path at night with a flashlight.  You can only see a step or two in front of you, but you know the rest of the path is there.  You just have to take that step or two to see the next one.  Make sense? 

As you begin to practice taking that next step forward, you may begin to see more than one step ahead, but you may not.  We tend to be uncomfortable with uncertainty, but this is exactly where we find the opportunity to grow.  I just finished a yin yoga teacher training workshop this weekend, and this is exactly how yin works.  You look for your edge – that place past comfortable but not yet painful.  Then, you get still with that edge.  You listen to your body, turn inward and focus on the sensation, your breath, or your awareness.  You stay there for a while – sometimes a long while.  Can you get comfortable with being uncomfortable?  With not knowing how it all turns out?  I’ll let you in on a little secret here.  None of knows how it all turns out.  So, why are we so concerned with thinking we know?  There are some things that are meant to be a mystery, so why not embrace uncertainty as that edge where you can grow and maybe become that higher version of yourself? 

I love this idea of enlightened action.  To do it, I really have to listen within.  That includes listening to my body, my mind, and my soul.  Then, with that deep knowing, I can take that one step.  What is one enlightened action you are going to take to move toward your edge?  What is one way you can become more comfortable with being uncomfortable?