On New Year’s Eve, I wrote this on And So It is New Year 2019. It concerned itself with vision and goals, purpose, meaning, character and more… and I truly and humbly do suggest the read.
Last night and today, January 1-2 in the Northeast Avalon including St. John’s and Mount Pearl, we were met with this storm. At first it promised to be a blizzard, but it turned and is turning out to be two storms in one. I even liken it to a bit of a snowy hurricane; high winds and snow, lightening up with rain and freezing rain for a bit, then returning to snow and very high winds. It has grounded the city, at the very beginning of the new year. For a snapshot look, notice the shovel handle in the far right of the photo, just outside the door.
Yup, walloped a bit hard, and amidst all the plans for the new year. Social media has been filled with messages for a great new year, and I am sure many had plans to hit the ground running, myself included. For me, the intent was and is to launch the new EPIC Speakernet…. 26 expert speakers coming together to be available for conferences and events in Newfoundland and Labrador… effective and officially today. The thought was and is to launch the introduction of #hUmaNITY and Project BLACKWING™… this week. The thought was and is to launch our now 19 free services… including DELIVER™, CAPS Cares, and Speakeasies™. And yes, our updated site. Yes, there were great intentions, and I guess, by noting them here, I have kind of introduced and/or launched each. Still, I am reminded that journeys require patience. Even just two days in can test the journey. We are eager to get at it. Then, right at the beginning, a wheel can fall off.
Patience is not about biting our tongues or holding our breaths. Patience is the power (or at least one of the core powers) of the hunt, and the journey. The hunt is not simply about the chase, but the wait.
And that can be weighty for many of us. I know that it can be for me. But then and tonight, I think…
Consider Patience
The Virtues Reflection Card says it is hopeful and expectant, un-rushed and gentle with mistakes. It says it accepts where we are, with an essential confidence that that is not where we will stay. Patience does not panic or become disturbed or doubtful. It breathes well. It trusts that we will make it. It is the tortoise over the hare. It has a quiet confidence, and sense of certitude. It know it will get there.
As my back is “gone” and the snow keeps coming, I need to understand this. As we each reach for that which we most soulfully desire this year, in whatever areas and arenas of our lives, we need to remember that Rome took more than a day. Our souls know that. Our egos struggle with it. Listen to your soul. Our lives are journeys. Our years are segments. Our days are miles. Some miles are pit stops and we (I) must remember that the pit stops are necessary. Indeed, I believe it was the remarkable Stephen Covey who once referenced that sometimes we are too busy to stop for gas, and we must stop for gas.
So, as you venture forth in 2019, enjoy the ride, be alert to the times for both movement and stillness. If it helps, I offer up this prayer I say in remembrance of my sister.
- Make me ready, in all circumstances, O my Lord, to serve Thee and to set myself towards the adored sanctuary of Thy Revelation and of Thy Beauty. If it be Thy pleasure, make me to grow as a tender herb in the meadows of Thy grace, that the gentle winds of Thy will may stir me up and bend me into conformity with Thy pleasure, in such wise that my movement and my stillness may be wholly directed by Thee.
Among other things, it speaks to me of the necessity of movement and stillness. It is not all up to me. I am simply to be ready. This storm is out of my control, as is much in life. What is within my grasp is the ability to be ready. In education, leadership, business community building and more… certainly, in life … in 2019, I wish that you live your life ready and to be alert to the things that come your way.
Listen and live.
Peace, passion and prosperity…
Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy