What now – In pursuit of purpose

I’ve been silent, I know.

For the last few weeks (months) I’ve been considering my state of what Lyn Slater at Accidental Icon, has called her “whatnowness”. We are not alone.

Thirty year olds are moving toward a new decade of numbers. Seventy year olds, first time empty nesters, college grads, political activists, women’s rights leaders … It seems we’re all considering what has gone before, where we are now, and questioning where we go from here.

For myself, I can tell you, I felt stuck. With so many options and paths to follow, I could not fully identify what my future goals might be and what next steps I should take toward fulfilling a career. It occurred to me that if I continued down this path of numbness (mostly caused by our present political environment) and confusion, I was doing nothing more than waiting around for something to drop into my lap. Things had to change.

 Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid of standing still – Chinese Proverb

In August, I packed my bags and headed to the Cape for two weeks. It was there I felt I could finally make some progress. Walks on the beach, evenings watching the sunset, crickets at dusk, time spent with good friends, and breaking out my camera acted like a salve. I was able to identify a couple of important goals.

One area where I knew I could see the greatest improvement would be my health. I considered this the game changer. From better health better things would come. Making my body strong would make my mind strong. It was at the Cape where I began long walks on beachy sands. I bathed daily in an outdoor shower, the sunshine making diamonds in the water and warming my shoulders. I mediated during the sunset. When I got back home to Boston, I continued walking — going to the park, forest bathing, and enjoying the psithurism of autumn leaves. I began eating better and eating less. I started weight training. After seven weeks, the change has been enormous and empowering.

Another area I wanted to work on was that of enhancing my creativity. Or rather, living a more creative life and sharing what I knew and what I newly discovered. To me this meant adding some simple things such as gardening, painting the apartment, but also improving my writing skills (and doing it more often even if I felt what I wrote sucked) and getting out to take more photography in Boston. I want more collaboration and I am seeking like minded individuals.

I think in answering the call to What Now, one must listen closely to the stirring of one’s soul. And despite perhaps wishing to stay in a comfort zone, I know for sure, that good ideas and dreams can’t just stay in your head. Those ideas have to be made actionable.

Do you have dreams, goals, and passions you’d like to see come true? Tell me about them and how you plan to meet them in the comments below.