What are we waiting for?




When you receive this writing, I will be in full swing on my writing sabbatical. Yes, that's right. I ceased waiting and striving to get everything "perfect," comfortable, all set, working, just right, finalized, and complete. I sense an urgency moving through our world right now that is not only asking us to wake up, grow up and clean up, but to get going with whatever it is we are meant to be doing in this life.

It's radical take action time.

Enough with reflection.
Enough with journaling and processing.
Enough with creating our perfect purpose statements and hanging them on the refrigerator.
Enough hibernating in the cave holding the mudra of OM.
Enough with all of the razzmatazz that prevents us from stepping toward the cold surface and opening both arms toward life.

Yes, pause long enough to get semi-clear, reflect and journal, set powerful intentions (or just intentions - they don't have to be powerful, that may be a way we keep waiting: "my intentions aren't powerful enough.") Instead of waiting for clarity, which is a camouflaged form of procrastination, start moving, towards clarity.

When we start moving toward clarity with unbridled energy, truth and joy, life gets really easy and really surprising and really stunning. We realize that the support for our world offerings is present, and has been ready, waiting for us!

Your offering to the world is your genius

Like a Venn diagram your genius is the intersection of three areas:
  • what you naturally do really well requiring little effort (Talent),
  • what puts you into flow and energizes you (Passion) and
  • what is the most meaningful contribution you want to make (Impact).
Writing, I recognize, is my genius and the most meaningful contribution I want to and can make. Passion is flowing through me with energy in my writing. When the urgency became too painful I realized that I was waiting for something that was only in my imagination. That clarity opened the door for me to walk through with action, no waiting, no looking back, only moving forward.

Take a moment to discover more about your genius, your unique gift to the world:

Talent:
List the activities that you excel at.
Of those activities, what is effortless?
What do others say are your natural gifts?

Passion:
List the activities you love to do.
What are you doing when you lose track of time?
What activities produce energy?

Impact:
List the ways that you make a meaningful difference.
What offerings produce the most satisfaction?
What kinds of contribution generate the greatest fulfillment?

Is there something about money that you are waiting for?

Of course MoneyMoves news would not be complete without weaving money into the waiting. Money is one of the big wait buttons. I am waiting to offer my love and genius to the world until ... I have enough money, until my debt is paid off, until I get my raise, until my bonus comes in, until my investments increase in value, until my stock losses recover, until .... What is your money wait button?

Gather your wits around your money waits and see through to the truth. Do not let money ever be an obstacle to offering your energy to the world. From this contracted view, you will never have "enough." Debt is deemed a problem rather than a practice, getting a raise is being at the effect of another and so is a bonus, your investments will go up and down, stock losses may or may not recover to the "number" that you desire. Do you see what is happening? We don't realize we are waiting until we do. Do you want the realization to come with a lot of pain or a friendly nudge?

As a child I was not fond of shots given at my annual physical. I recall, and was reminded frequently, that when the nurse came to give me a booster shot, I would cower away saying, "Wait, wait, wait." Clearly I was scared and did not want the painful shot. But as you might know from your own experience, the waiting was much more painful than the eventual quick prick from the needle. That young voice and tender body is still alive in me, scared and saying wait. With practices that allow me to cut through the confusion and reveal clarity, I hug my little self, feel the fear sensations and boldly move forward as a mature competent woman offering my genius. Really anything less doesn't work anymore.

Leaping, cruising and surfing,
 
Be Moved...

The Master in the art of
Living makes little distinction between his
Work and his play...
He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues
His vision of excellence in
Whatever he does, leaving others to decide
Whether he is working or playing.
To him he is always doing both.

-Ancient Zen Text