Front and Center

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Whatever you have in front of you is what you have in front of you. That’s it! Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Creative Power Released – July, 2011)

The simplicity of this statement struck me as I woke from a nap and reached for one of Gregge’s booklets in search of my focus for this week’s post.  Life truly is as simple as living in the now, focused on what is in front of us – front and center.

From ancient spiritual traditions to best-selling self-help books today, this teaching is found throughout. Yet simple does not mean easy. And, hey, it seems we humans have been working on this for a very long time.

We make life complex by layering past experiences or concerns about the future (and sometimes both at the same time) onto whatever is in front of us. Over time I’ve noticed that quite often whatever I’m fretting about in my head has nothing to do with what’s in front of me at that moment.

In its infinite wisdom, the Universe does not engage in the past or the future. It doesn’t worry over what it did yesterday or even billions of years ago. Done is done. And, the Universe doesn’t fret about tomorrow or the next election. What will be, will be.

 This doesn’t mean that we don’t reflect on and learn from our past. That’s a natural and necessary ingredient for our growth and development. Likewise, it doesn’t mean that we don’t care about and put attention on the direction of our future. We give each their time. We learn. We make adjustments. At their time, each is front and center. Then we move to what’s next. With discipline and practice, we do so without the past or future successfully claiming bit parts in our present.

Pure and simple, no matter how great or how small (but, who cares about size?), the opportunity before you IS. That’s it. With full attention on THAT, take a step, then another. Leave the past in its place. Let the future unfold as it is sure to do.

P.S. In the three short hours since I penned this post, I’ve been humbled (yet again) by how easily my thoughts wander and by the vast range of that wandering. On our morning walk I caught myself revisiting an old conflict rather than fully taking in the beauty of the mountains and the sky as the sun made its way to the top of the ridge. I chuckled as I put my attention on that and bid the past adieu. A short while later as I watered the garden I noticed myself being annoyed by what needed to be done there later rather than putting attention on the water falling on the bounty.  What’s in front of me is simple. Putting my full attention there requires commitment, awareness, and vigilance. Step by step may I rise to what is front and center NOW.

When I'm present, I notice the subtle beauty of first light filtering through the woods.

Going All Out

Going All Out for Halloween!

Waste is the one thing that the Universe does not allow, and to ignore the ‘Great Pumpkin’ of why you are here is a waste. You become part of your own excitement when you recognize that you living your life is you being revealed to you. Now that is productive! Gregge Tiffen (The Great Pumpkin: Was Charlie Brown Right? October, 2007)

I’m away from my normal environment this week, spending time on Colorado’s Front Range in the Boulder/Denver area, a few days in suburbia and a few in the heart of the City. Being away typically stimulates different reflections and new points of awareness. This trip is no different. Among several such points of reflection was noticing the abundance of Halloween decorations on our walks in the neighborhood where I’m visiting a friend.

After an initial snarky judgement (who me?), I found myself curious about the idea of ‘going all out’. Since I generally don’t go all out for decorations, I asked myself just what I’m inspired to go ‘all out’ for.

Ah, the Great Pumpkin of life was inviting my attention, offering the possibility of new awareness from my observations and judgments. Something new was being revealed, a new lens from which to reflect and, perhaps, to make adjustments:

• What does it mean to me to ‘go all out’?
• What do I go all out for in my life?
• What new possibilities offer the opportunity to go all out?

My quick first list included much of how I live my life: my self-care, care for Luke, care for my home, as well as care for my coaching clients, bed & breakfast guests, and friends. Creating this weekly post and my commitment to my personal and spiritual learning and growth are other areas that I identified. Pretty satisfying.

The list led me to realize that, for me, ‘going all out’ is an inside job before it becomes an outside expression. It means bringing forth the best that is in me whatever that is moment to moment, without regard for what I’m doing. It requires that I be clear and harmonious. I need to keep the world’s chaos at bay and maintain balance within.

‘Going all out’ for me means what Gregge calls “attending to our own creativity”, whether I’m engaged in the day to day activities that make up life or in a big creative project. From that perspective, I can ask ‘what do I want to go all out for now, next and I can stay tuned into me to discover just what that will be.  And, that’s a pretty exciting thought to take out for a walk with my friend and our beloved pups on this beautiful, warm autumn day.

Or Maybe I'll Go Play With a Dragon ...