Doing Changes Things

A new year is like a magical chest filled with things unseen and, in a quantum physics way, affected by our thoughts about it and our processes of observing each day as it slips through the measured opening.  I love the abundance of this time of the year as it always seems so pregnant with possibilities.

My annual ritual of planning is underway ... choosing my words for the year (check), collaging the opening pages of my journal with inspiring images (check), decorating the outside of the journal (today's task), making a calendar list of coming attractions (in process), weaving together the strands of "doing" into a ribbon that will gently and colorfully guide me along the path of what I truly value (also in process).

One of my favorite activities during this process is to flip through previous journals, and a couple of days ago I found the three words that make up the title of this post:  doing changes things.  At first I skipped past them as a "duh."  However, they kept coming back to me as I thought of things I had done in the past that changed things, some that changed everything.  And, then it hit me:  what I am doing right now and in the coming days will change things.  Our actions are our thoughts, beliefs, hopes and dreams made manifest.  

Our actions are the future being born.  Each action is a step down a path, a path that shifts slightly with each step.

It makes me want to take a little more time in planning my actions for the year and to be a little more careful of my actions in each moment. It makes me want to focus carefully on what I want so that my focus guides my steps.  And, it makes me willing to take a little more time making sure I'm clear about my values and what I truly want.

Gandhi put these thoughts into a more elegant statement:

Your beliefs become your thoughts

Your thoughts become your words

Your words become your actions

Your actions become your habits

Your habits become your values

Your values become your destiny.

May your magical chest of 2012 be filled actions that lead to a destiny of joy and fulfillment.