The “No Manifesto” Manifesto

The temptation was right in front of me.

The first day of the next year of my life. With pen in hand and a blank page staring back at me I was prepared to commit to paper an extensive list of all the things I was going to accomplish in the next 12 months. The goals, the experiences, the desired outcomes. The new daily routines I’d militantly follow to make everything on that page come to life.

I’ve set bold intentions for many of my years. While accomplishing a great many things on those lists, more often than not their attainment felt rather hollow. I expected my desired outcomes to be sources of peace and fulfillment, pressuring the outcomes to be far more than they were capable of becoming.

Instead of creating yet another grand manifesto for the year to come, I instead opted for something far less bold. On that blank page in front of me I thought about how I want to feel this new year. As I began to contemplate what that would look like the words began to come through me. Present. Engaged. Creative. Trusting. Abundant. Grateful. Patient. Purposeful. Accepting. Detached. Authentic.

Feelings that only come from within.

There are still many things I intend on accomplishing and experiencing this year. But these powerful words are the framework for what I will be willing to attain and experience.

Eleven words.

One life.

My life.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Creating Unexpected Moments Of Joy

I was far too excited when I opened the package.

For reasons still unknown to me, I finally decided to buy a Santa suit. An 11-piece deluxe Santa suit, complete with the white gloves and a hand bell. My inner child broke into an uncontrollable laughter as I unpacked my illogical gift to myself.

Sometimes logic just gets in the way of fun.

What’s the first thing you do when you get your Santa suit? You put it on and walk through your neighborhood, wondering through backyards triggering Ring camera notifications prompting unsuspecting neighbors to run to their windows to try and figure out why Santa is standing on their lawns.

As I made my way back home, two young children locked eyes on me from inside their house, their little faces lit up like Christmas trees as Santa walked by their home on a random Tuesday afternoon in October.

Unexpected moments of joy.

For every one.

Me included.

Joy comes in many forms. We have the power to create it. Our presence, our love, our Continue reading “Creating Unexpected Moments Of Joy” →

Looking Through The Lens Of The Present Moment

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” – Dorothea Lange

I guess having over 73,000 photos stored on my phone would indicate I take a lot of pictures. It’s a diverse collection of images, but they all have one thing in common. I was there for all of them.

One of the unexpected life lessons photography has taught me is the importance of being fully present. To look through the view finder and notice every detail of what is in the frame. The colors, the light, the lines. The people, their placement, their expression.

To notice everything.

I’ve often struggled with the idea of being fully present. My ungrounded self tended to find some other place to be or some other thing to focus on. But the moment before I take a photo demands my full attention.

Noticing. Evaluating. Adjusting.

Presence.

The practice of such intentional presence has taught me to also be more present in the non-photographic areas of my life. Where what’s in front of me is essentially an oversized view Continue reading “Looking Through The Lens Of The Present Moment” →

Finding Your Own Road Less Traveled

If you didn’t know it was there you’d probably never know it was.

The paved road unexpectedly turned to gravel. The overgrown grass and trees hid the sign marking the entrance to a rather obscure area of the vast coastal nature preserve. I parked where I could looking for signs that didn’t exist. Google Maps gave me an idea where I was supposed to go, and with my backpack and hiking stick I headed west down the fire road which I believed would lead me to the beach I was looking for.

About a mile later the dirt road lined with scrub pine turned into sand and behind the grass-covered dunes was the beach I was looking for.

Perfectly empty.

Just me and the ocean.

I can see why many wouldn’t want to go through such a process just to get to a beach. A few miles Continue reading “Finding Your Own Road Less Traveled” →

Urgency, Clarity, Intention, & Purpose

Her text brought an unexpected smile to my face.

It’s July 4th and my younger sister reached out with a memory of the day we celebrated America’s bicentennial. Our ever-crafty Mom baked a couple dozen cupcakes and us neighborhood kids got to decorate them with the red, white, and blue frosting she made. We all got together by the old fence separating our yard from Dave Wooler’s yard and expressed our patriotic spirit in a very sweet way.

I had forgotten all about that day but her text brought me right back into that moment. The faces, the voices…hard to believe it was 50 years ago.

Revisiting memories is often a double-edged emotional sword for me. Inevitably I will move past the memory itself and find myself fixated on the time separating the memory and the now. As in what have I done with my life in those years in between. As much as I’ve come to accept the path my life has taken, that nagging and quite persistent inquisitive voice within has the tendency to prompt me to revisit my path. The choices I made. The choices I didn’t make. The choices I never allowed myself to make.

Quite often this line of questioning was met with a tenacious hostile reaction from within, sort of the same reaction I experienced when I felt short of the paternal expectations I wasn’t living up to. I should have done better, and not knowing what better actually was didn’t let me off the hook for not doing Continue reading “Urgency, Clarity, Intention, & Purpose” →

Embracing The Intentionality Of Nature

The signs are everywhere. The green buds on the barren branches. The yellow daffodils starting their annual bloom. The chirping of the birds greeting the sunrise.

Spring has sprung, leaving the cold and colorless winter behind.

Nature is a wise teacher, and Spring is one of its favorite lessons. Renewal and rebirth. My favorite lesson, though, is one often overlooked and rarely considered.

Intention.

Nature isn’t random. It doesn’t dabble. It creates with intention. Everything is uniquely purposeful, everything created to express itself fully. Every bud, every bug, every blade of grass fulfilling the intentional promise of its creation, significant and purposeful in their own unique way.

Nature reminds me that I am not random. I, too, was created with intention, with a unique purpose only I can express, a purpose intended to be fully expressed. Within us is the opportunity Continue reading “Embracing The Intentionality Of Nature” →

Things Don’t Last Forever On Their Own

I guess it was inevitable. But it didn’t have to be.

All of my life that barn was there. Until it wasn’t. A recent heavy wet snow proved too much for its weakened structure, slowly and consistently compromised by years of neglect to a point where it probably wasn’t worth the time and effort to save it.

Its demise seemed subtly unintentional. It was built to last, a solid foundation of granite supporting its timber frame posts and beams. It should have lasted forever.

But things usually don’t last forever on their own.

The rubble of the now-fallen barn offered me a stark reminder that the majestic things we’ve built in our own lives need the consistency of regular maintenance and pro-active care if we want them to last. Friendships, relationships, our health, and our emotional well being may all be built upon solid foundations, but indifference and complacency will surely weaken their structure, rendering them vulnerable and exposed to the inevitable storms life brings upon us.

If it’s worth saving, know it’s not going to save itself.

Photo by Chris Riggs on Unsplash

Great Years Don’t Happen On Their Own

He spoke with Biblical certainty.

“This is my year.”

It’s not uncommon to hear such bold declarations at the beginning of a new year. A brand new start, a clean slate, where anything feels possible and this guy was all in on that.

I hope this is his year.

In my life I’ve had those years that were definitely mine. Big years, significant years where outcomes vastly exceeded expectations leaving me feeling bullet proof and invincible. I’ve also had those years when I was a suck magnet where any optimism and enthusiasm I may have had at the start of the year was quickly beaten out of me.

I always hope each of my years will be good ones. But I’ve also learned to accept my responsibility in making a year a good one.

Experience and introspection tell me every year has been my year. Every year has been filled with opportunities to grow and to evolve and to become. In those big, significant years, I showed up for the opportunities I was presented with. I was intentional and deliberate. I wasn’t willing to Continue reading “Great Years Don’t Happen On Their Own” →

The Life You Decide To Live

A pie eating contest, winning a stuffed pig at a carnival, and running a seven mile road race.

What do they all have in common?

Intention.

Scrolling through my photos from the past 12 months I was reminded of some of the interesting things I did this year. Some big things, some small things, some new things, some familiar things.

If I didn’t show up for them they never would have happened for me.

As a recovering “hoper and wisher”, I know the good stuff in life seldom just shows up no matter Continue reading “The Life You Decide To Live” →

How Deep Is Your Love?

I was told there’s nothing to see there.

Which is why I wanted to see it.

It’s 7:30 AM and right on schedule the ferry pulled away from the dock for the one hour ride to New Shoreham, a small island off the coast of Rhode Island. A booming summer tourist hotspot, the island is in full hibernation mode on this frigid December morning. Cold, isolated, and barren.

It’s exactly what I had hoped for.

I’m not sure when a ritual becomes a tradition, but for the past several years I select one day in late December to become somewhat invisible and inaccessible. A spiritual spa day of sorts, where I find myself in cold, isolated, and barren locations in coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island wonderfully alone, embarking on long hikes in solitude where the only voice I hear is the one in my head.

These days are important days. These are the days of reflection, release, realignment, and reconnection. This is a safe space for me to be honest with me about me. A kind and loving space where I allow myself to process and unpack the heaviness life sometimes throws upon your shoulders and your heart. In this space there is no agenda nor the pressure of needing to Continue reading “How Deep Is Your Love?” →

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Lessons From A Life Unfolding

Category: intention