Choices

Mapping Choices    (C) Olenka - AKPhilippas

Yesterday, when I admonished myself for skipping a day of Morning Pages (the practice of stream of consciousness writing--3 pages every morning--suggested by Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way and several other of her books as a core practice), it occurred to me how arbitrary our mind can be in allocating authority, e.g. you pick out a book and follow the author's instructions seriously and then feel badly when lapses occur, but there is no one really standing over you forcing you to do anything--you're the one who chose the book, you chose to try out that method of instruction, you decided the guidance was worth following to reach your goals and you alone chose to take a break or let it go or moved in a different direction. Who said that's wrong? Obviously, you'll never know what results you would have achieved if you had continued on any given path if you don't follow it to the end, but if it served to get you started with a new perspective which then led you to a tangent which also sparked a satisfactory idea -- then all is well.  If you choose to feel guilty and disappointed in your inability to keep a commitment to your own goals, or dislike giving in to the inner critic or monkey-mind, then just re-focus, start again and know that as you redefine  your intentions and keep moving toward your desires every action will lead to the next and the learning directs a new move forward.  It's all an adventure filled with discovery of self and the world.  I choose to keep it joyful and filled with wonder!  Wishing you a wonderful day!