Living your essence....In everything you do!

Moving into winter usually is a time for me of great reflection and introspection. Every year around early November I take time to re-calibrate what has become my day-to-day schedule. Taking a good look at what’s on my plate on a daily basis and beginning to observe what still serves me and what has become just mindless clutter. This is a time I usually look forward to. A time for me to slow everything down, find the breath in between and look for the pause. A shift that usually happens naturally.This year however, as if my calendar knew about my intention to slow down, had something else in mind. Every project that came in had a note attached that included “ASAP” in some shape or form. Everything was urgent and had to be done immediately. That’s at least what the little notes attached said. And I responded to all those invitations with great enthusiasm and drive, as they offered unique opportunities to offer my teachings. The more projects came in, the harder I worked. The harder I worked, the more projects came in. A cycle, which didn’t seem to loose momentum any time soon.

So after a few weeks I figured that if working ridiculous long days and evenings do not reduce the items on my to-do-list, something had to change. I decided to shift gear. If my surroundings wouldn’t invite meto slow down, well I guessed, I just had to slow down myself. So one Sunday evening,I took out that oh so important to-to-list as I prepared for the week ahead and began to study it a little more in depth.

After sitting over it for a while I realised that most items on it were pure reactions to the world around me. In other words, I didn’t wake up in the morning with the intention and urge to do that particular thing but rather someone else contacted me and I responded with a new “to-

do” bullet point.

I was taking on everyone else’s chaos and business and making it part of my daily life. It can

happen so easily. Just a little favour here and there, an “urgent” flag on an e-mail and off we go. I’m not saying don’t do favours or jump in when help is needed, but what I do say is pause, breathe and reflect before taking action. It is so easy to become reactionate in daily live and loosing the connection to your very own, to what you are all about.

It is a skill and takes much practice but it is possible to let your essence, your purpose speak through everything you do, say and think. When we know what we are all about, what our talents are and what we have to give to the world, all we need is a reminder, so we can re-

align our actions to that purpose and bring our unique talents into this world. The bonus is that when you act in alignment with your true life-purpose, all of your actions automatically serve others.