
Welcome to "Thoughts on Living" - an exciting exploration into the essence of truly living. This blog is about nurturing a life filled with awe and curiosity.
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JANUARY'S THEME: Choosing to Live an Intentional Life
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Hmmm… Choose to live … (not exist) ... intentionally.
How can you choose how you live?
How can you live and not just exist?
How can you make deliberate choices that resonate with your true self?
I believe that it all begins with perspective and attitude - a mindset that shapes how we interpret and respond to life’s situations.
Years ago I was introduced to a powerful book that I highly recommend for everyone: “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl. In this short autobiographical book there are many gems of wisdom. The one that I kept on my desk while I was teaching was:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
Even in the worst of circumstances, Frankl argues that we all possess the power of choice - a dynamic force that defines the very essence of living intentionally.
Choose to ... live (not exist) ... intentionally.
My choices are often not always well-thought out - and, in retrospect, I sometimes wish that I had taken a different route. That’s when I use my coach training to extend grace to myself and ask what I’ve learned from the experience. Self-reflection is a critical skill to build strengths for living. So I have decided that I am still learning and still growing and still becoming.
‘Becoming’ is my word for 2024. This word came from a discussion that Gail, Cristina and I were having about the possibilities of a transformative opportunity for women in Santa Fe (see more info below). Becoming offers grace and possibilities.
I believe that if you are living, you are changing. If you are changing, you are becoming.
So, as you reflect on your day, I leave you with a powerful question:
“What’s possible from here?”
In your corner,
- Linda