Creating a Beautiful 2014
Last week, I offered my annual reflection and visioning process. Today, I’ll share some of the fruits of this process – and I hope you’ll feel inspired to share your own reflections and insights below in the comments.
I had planned to post what you’ll read below on my Five Directions website because I think of these as more work-related highlights. But a wacky thing happened a couple of days ago — when I pushed a button to update to the newest version of WordPress, the whole thing went ka-pooey. Apparently I broke my website! At least on the back end, and I’m not able to update anything there for now.
But it turns out this is a fortuitous event because it ties in so perfectly with my biggest intention for the year to come:
My 2014 will be about connecting my own dots.
You may not know that I have multiple identities on the internet. There is the Liberated Life Project, which you’re now reading. That’s where the spiritual side of me comes out. There is my Five Directions site, where my professional persona shows up. And there is my Jizo Chronicles blog about socially engaged Buddhism. So you can see how I have a bit of a multiple personality thing going on.
I’ve grappled with this for years. Sometimes I’ll call myself a Renaissance Woman as a way to solve the ‘problem.’ But then I realize it’s not a problem… and that all I really need to do is take a closer look at my “body of work,” as Pam Slim calls it, and discern the thread that ties it all together. (And by the way, getting business coaching from Pam was one of my best decisions of the year!)
When I sat down and looked back at the past year, I was awed and gratified to remember what I’ve done and who I’ve worked with. And a big pattern started to emerge. I wonder if you can see it too:
- Offered the opening blessing to the New Mexico House of Representatives (February)
- Gave dharma talks at Upaya Zen Center in February and October
- Served as a mentor for Rubina Cohen’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Circle (April), where I shared some mindfulness practices that the women could use in their daily work. They loved it, and so did I.
- Held the first-ever Liberation Lounge in Sierra Madre, CA (May)
- Taught “The Mandala of Socially Engaged Buddhism” at the International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice in northern Thailand (July)
- Officiated weddings for 3 lesbian couples in New Mexico – where same-sex marriage is now finally legal! (August)
- Offered the e-course “Fall in Love with Your Work” (October)… capped off by the Virtual Holiday Faire giving graduates a chance to put into practice what they learned about ‘right livelihood
- Offered a “Mindful Happy Hour” at Pam Slim’s Body of Work Live conference in Phoenix (October)
- And through it all, I guided year 6 of the Upaya Zen Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program
My writing turned up in a number of places, including:
- Open Democracy: “Welcome to the Ministry of Social Transformation” and “Can Religion Be a Force for Transformation?”
- Boeddha Magazine — an article on Generosity in Management (in the Business section)
- Mindfulness Starts Here: An Eight-Week Guide to Skillful Living by Lynette Monteiro and Frank Musten
So what’s the pattern here? What’s the thread that connects it all together? Here’s what I started to see:
- Applied wisdom
- The place where spirit, engagement, community, creativity, and livelihood meet
- Bringing clarity, calmness, and inspiration to a chaotic world
I am so excited to enter into 2014 with more of my own clarity about what I have to offer the world. I’m looking forward to bringing my multiple identities into a more cohesive whole — where spirit and work and social action are beautifully woven together, not relegated to separate outposts. And I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes, from Howard Thurman:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
How about you? What have you learned from reflecting on your year? What do you want to call into being for 2014?