I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and that this holiday season brings you a tangible sense of peace and strength. Before you know it, we will be into anothernew year – 2024!
It’s been noted before that many people spend more time thinking about their holidays than they do their life. That’s a good reminder of the importance of taking some time to think about and reflect on our life. This time of year is a good opportunity to do that – pause and reflect, then think about the direction you are heading.
If that’s something you want to set aside some time to do, then I recommend reviewing the series we did back in December 2020 called ‘Life Think‘ – 13 episodes designed to help you reflect on and design the life you desire. You can read these as BLOG posts or watch them on the Soul Food YouTube channel.
All the best for the coming year. May it be filled with much joy and meaning for you.
Answers. We all love them. A test completed. A problem fixed. A riddle solved. A decision made. Confusion clarified. Resolution. The end.
What about questions? Here are some good questions to ask yourself from time to time.
Who am I?
What do I value?
Why am I here?
What gives life meaning … for me?
What do I enjoy?
What do I want … really?
What is frustrating me?
What is my best contribution?
Where am I heading?
What’s important now?
What do I do next?
What needs to change?
Who can help?
What is my focus … today?
Maybe we’re better off not rushing too soon to answers before patiently exploring our questions. Why not sit with them for a while? Be willing to live in the ‘in-between’. Pause. Embrace mystery and paradox – the unknown and yet to be revealed. I wonder if we can let go of the anxiety of the unresolved. Marinate. Give it time.
You are changing … and so are the questions … and so are the answers … for you.
What are your questionstoday?
“The important thing is not to stop questioning.Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
Hi friends. Welcome to this week’s edition of Soul Food.
The late Peter Drucker was one of the first people to note that 100 years ago, most people only lived till around the age of 50. Nowadays, people are living into their 90s and many to 100 and beyond. It’s like we’re the first generation to have two halves of life – and we are totally unprepared for it.
If you’re 50 years of age, you may have already had 30 years of vocational contribution (your first half) and you could still have another 30 years ahead of you (your second half).
Of course, the old 3-stage model of life – (1) education, (2) vocation, then (3) retirement – just doesn’t work anymore. If you look to finish working in your mid-60s, then that’s a potential loooong retirement period – doing what?
Nowadays, most people will have multiple jobs and/or vocations throughout their lifetime. So the stages of life will probably go from Education to Vocation 1, to possibly some up-skilling and more Education before Vocation 2, then extending our contribution late into life through part time or extended voluntary work before full retirement.
So where are you in your journey of life?
If you’re in your mid to late 40s OR early 50s, there is a huge benefit in scheduling a planned ‘halftime’.
In any sports game, halftime is an opportunity to pause … to catch your breath, then to look back on the first half and think about how things are going. What’s going well that you want to continue into the second half? What’s not going so well that you want to change? Most of the time, we don’t want to let the second half simply be a repeat of the first. We want to make some adjustments.
In the game of life, the first half is often a time when we focus on success – whatever that may mean for us. In the second half, many people want to make a shift to significance. Our values often change, as does what has meaning for us.
Of course, you don’t have to wait until middle age to choose to live a life of significance. Success and significance can work together, as long as we have thought deeply about what truly matters to us – beyond the noisy chatter of the culture we live in.
Don’t keep living your life without even thinking about it, stuck on ‘auto pilot’. Maybe it’s time to schedule some extended time aside by yourself – take a retreat. Have a halftime. You’ll be glad you did!
Let’s recap our main points:
We are one of the first generations to live long enough to have two halves of life.
The old 3-stage model of life – education, vocation, retirement – needs to be re-thought.
Everyone, no matter what age, benefits from taking a ‘halftime’ to pause and evaluate their life.
Choose to focus on living a life of ‘significance’, not merely a ‘successful’ one.
Did you know that many people spend more time thinking about their holidays than they do their life?
Today on Soul Food we start a new series called ‘Life Think’ – taking some time to think about and reflect on our life. After all our ‘soul’ includes not only our feelings, but also our thoughts and our decisions.
Christmas is only just over 3 weeks away and you know what’s after that – the end of this year and the beginning of a new year. This time of year is a good opportunity to pause and reflect on our life … and to think about the direction we are heading.
To do this, I find it helpful to block out some time to have a thorough review of this year.
Of course, like when we are driving, it is important to be primarily looking forward towards where we are heading … BUT every now and then we need to glance into the rearview mirror to see where you have come from.
To do so … ask yourself some important questions:
What went well this year – things you are grateful for, that you can celebrate?
What didn’t go so well – and why? Think about any disappointments or regrets you may have.
Are you okay with how this year unfolded?
How would you live differently if you had this year all over again?
Was there anything missing from your life?
What lessons did you learn this year?
What themes or patterns emerged?
As we have said before, experience isn’t life’s greatest teacher. It’s only by taking time aside for reflection that we can turn experience into wisdom for life. It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Of course, your past does not determine your future. So don’t get stuck there. However, the better we process our past the better we set ourselves up to create the future we desire.
Let’s recap our main points:
Many people spend more time thinking about their holidays than they do their life.
Make an appointment with yourself and have a thorough review of this year.
Tap into the power of questions.
Your past does not determine your future. You can change!
Mention the word ‘meditation‘ today, and for many people, especially Christians, it will evoke images of someone sitting in a yoga pose with their eyes closed and endlessly chanting ‘ohm’. Meditation tends to be associated with Buddhism, exotic Eastern cults, or new age philosophy. Yet the practice of meditation has strong historical roots for people of other faiths, including Christians and Jews.
In the Old Testament book of Genesis we are told this about Isaac …
One evening as Isaac was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming.
Genesis 24:63. NLT
NOTE: This story took place hundreds of years before the Buddha lived.
Isaac was the son of Abraham, one of the wealthiest people in the East at that time. Abraham was probably a trader who had a huge extended family and an incredibly large amount of livestock and flocks. Isaac would receive all this through inheritance. His was a busy and full life – leading his family and managing his entourage at this nomadic time in history.
Despite his incredible workload, Isaac made time to get out of the tent, away from the family, and to ‘walk and meditate in the field’. Why would he do this? Because he understood the importance and the value of meditation. Good things come from solitude, quiet, and stillness.
The Hebrew word for ‘meditate‘ means to muse, to ruminate, to ponder, to analyze, to contemplate thoughtfully, to reflect, to consider deeply, and to imagine. It involves a focus on BEING or reflection, not just endless DOING or activity.
Today meditation is often referred to as ‘mindfulness‘ and it is an antidote to our activistic culture with its constant high speed, multi-tasking, and tendency to skim and hurry through everything. Not only is it practiced as an aspect of spirituality, but it is also being encouraged in the arenas of sport, business, health, and personal development.
Mindfulness is about being fully present at this moment, rather than stressing over the past or the future. It helps to cultivate a greater degree of awareness (learning to SEE) and attentiveness (learning to HEAR).
Why not take some time today to meditate. Set aside some extended time and space of NOT DOING. Find a pleasurable environment. Then adopt a posture of ready attention – without preoccupation or distraction. Focus on your breath, an inspirational quote, or a sacred text or Psalm.
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know
Be still
Be
Psalm 46:10.
You might enjoy reading the poem Morning Moments slowly at this time.
Quiet your busy mind. No rush. Wait. Listen. Look. Notice. Observe. Think. Meditate. Practice mindfulness. Have a time of Reflection. It will enrich your soul and enhance your personal well-being.
