How do you start your day? My day generally begins with a cup of coffee in my blue chair, and 10 minutes spent reflecting and planning with a morning page. In the last few weeks, my sense of being a citizen (a citizen of our nation and the world) has deepened and expanded. So much so that it caused me to update my morning page. I've started calling it my Daily Activist's Log, and for the next few weeks, I'm making it widely available here.
Perhaps you share in this expanding sense of citizenship? If so, you might want to give 10 minutes of your morning to trying this out, especially if these sorts of things are coming up for you:
- the need to keep up your good work in the uncertainty of our times
- the desire to expand your sphere of influence — and make it felt
- a longing to put power in the hands of skillful love
- an awareness that this is not just a sprint, it is a marathon
Click here if you'd like to download the morning page.
As Jean Houston recently pointed out to me, uncertainty seems to have reached truly mythic proportions. We are cracking away from the expected, into times that require an upgrade of the pioneering spirit. "To succeed we can no longer go it alone, but must partner with one another to share innovative and creative ways in which to rethink and restructure our individual existence within the context of our expanding global communities." We are not going to succeed with just the usual activist tactics. I see a need to call in the feminine and upgrade our activism. Some are calling it the Politics of Love. What ever words you are using, there is a need to marshal all the love, wisdom and energy that we can. Pacing and elegant use of energy is called for in this marathon
Keeping fit for the long haul starts with each one of us, every morning, when we set the trajectory for our day. One of the secrets to creatively living through tumultuous times is to develop the art of the potent pause. There are a number of ways to pause mindfully; meditation, martial arts, even walking being among them. One way to develop the art of pausing potently is to maintain the practice of starting the day with well orchestrated time to reflect, and to align your attention and energy. 10 minutes can wield a truly alchemical shift in your day, when it is well orchestrated.
If you are in for the duration, spend 10 morning minutes with My Daily Activist's Log for a few days or a week. Then please let me know how well this potent pause rocks you into your day. It is a work in progress, so I welcome your response. My hope is that your success with it contributes to our collective rise to the great task before us. Feel free to tinker with it and make it yours. If you find you want help with implementing it, click here to learn more about my work or just contact me directly.
I know, I do get lofty when I'm in my blue chair. Then I put away the dishes and I rock into my day. I feel very lucky to be able to carve out 10 minutes of quiet in the morning, and one thing that really motivates me is my longing for all beings on the planet to someday to be able to enjoy this same privilege.
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Onward we go!