Learning To Relax...

Those few folks who have been regular readers of mine know that I have shifted gears several times since the start of this. I have refocused from reflective rumination to story telling to lifestyle simplification to photography technique to music to environmentalism and back again. I have veered from a free-form out of the blue approach to a pre-planned "here's what's coming next" format I've posted as many as three time per week to once every three weeks. The blog gurus would tell me I'm a complete idiot and an example of precisely what not to do. Inconsistent, untimely and unfocused blogging is not the way to attract mobs of readers and ad dollars. Well... psssst.... my little secret is that I'm not trying to attract a following. Not that I'm not thrilled to have regular readers -- I am! Maybe we can all learn something from each other along the way. The reason I do this is because I want to -- sweet and simple. It's therapeutic.

I'm learning with greater and greater clarity lately that listening to what my conscience tells me to do (or perhaps just suggests) is a really good thing. I've always been a deeply philosophical person, and for just as long have straddled the border between conformity and true independence. What I am learning now, more than half way through my sixth decade (yikes!) on this planet is that my happiness lies in being what / who I know intuitively I am, as opposed to what / who the world at large thinks I ought to be. Being able to hear that inner voice requires that one drop their expectations of what should be, and relax sufficiently enough to calm the noise and learn. Quiet, peaceful meditation gets me to that place. Be still and know. Let go and let God. Follow the Tao. Whatever you call it, however you name it -- it's all the same.

So right now, my intuition is telling me to follow a strategy of taking what life sends my way, and trusting myself to do the right thing with it -- at play and at work. And I am finding extraordinary consistency in the practice. When I trust my instincts -- the inner voice -- the correct thing happens at the correct time and place. Thus the 1,000 Doors Project... the recent return to songwriting and recording -- to a greater emphasis on my music as a way to communicate the importance of diversity -- in the environment, in our beliefs, in our solutions to our seemingly insurmountable problems... can't only be just one, must be a thousand doors... So relax, like my brother-in-law in the photo above (shot at Six Mile Creek, near Orangedale, Florida). Go with the flow. Hang out and listen for the muse to show up. She might surprise you.