Category: 2013

Carlie and I have just become part of a ‘team’ of people and dogs who will be doing the half-time show at the College Royal at the University of Guelph in March. Most of us are all newbies to this ‘show’ experience and many of us are first time handlers at this more advanced level. So both Carlie and I are learning games and skills alongside Mastiffs, Boxers, Labs, a Corgie, a beagle mix and Shepherds… a motley crew of handlers with our good-looking dogs.
This experience is a blessing in disguise and one organized by the Universe without my conscious participation. I missed one class on account of Carlie hacking up burrs and then the next week I find out that all class members had apparently agreed to this event. A bit surprised, I inquired into the nature of what we will be expected to do and find out that we will each be handling our dogs through skills and games to a large audience. I grin inwardly and think, ‘nice one Universe. You snuck that one by me.’
So this past week, we talked about each dog’s temperament and how that will play out in the way we train for the show. We discussed what to do when our dogs ‘go off script’. As we started to train for ‘musical mats’, I realized an untapped part of me is being called forth. Ironically(?) my own theme word that arose from completing my Living JOY-Fully in 2013 working guide is ‘inner strength’ and here was a way to test a different sort of inner strength than my old model. I look forward to experiencing my own evolution in this adventure!
As you get real clear on your own new focus for this year, make sure it is indeed worthy of the best you. Invite this new focus to call forward untapped strengths and self love that shines the light ready to burst from those inner pockets of your soul. And if you need to, like the story of last week’s blog, dig a little deeper, and find the focus that is truly worthy of you. And if you are stuck,  my new Wisdom’s Way to ‘Right with the Light’: Living JOY-Fully in 2013 will help you find your ‘right movement’ again. It is now conveniently available for purchase online. As one person shared with me who completed it said she discovered her theme for the year—collaboration:

“I finished up your work book Shirley. It is fantastic! My big breakthrough was the amount of clarity I received on what I need to do this year. Your thought provoking questions allowed me to dig deep and receive the answers I needed to move forward on my goals. I also realized a big thing that was missing from my life and business–collaboration! Thank you Shirley for providing this opportunity to begin the transformation process :)”

Thanks Gretchen and blessings of focused and transformative success for each of you this year. 

A while back I found a card with a picture of a dog who was happily digging and the dirt was flying out the back. Not that this is a novel experience for me – I get to witness this activity several times a week with the dogs I regularly spend time with. But what I really liked about the card was the saying on the inside – Keep Digging. I have never given the card to anyone (I guess I bought it for myself) and I ponder its message every so often.

Keep Digging. It is particularly relevant for me right now as I set my goals and vision on 2013 and beyond. What that digging dog exudes is complete joy, even within the intensity of his search. I presume he is as committed to uncovering and zeroing in on his ultimate goal as my dogs are. Typically the goal needs to be approached from multiple angles to find the most effective and strongest approach. Or perhaps the ‘scent’ of the goal changes slightly as one keeps digging so as we get closer to our goal, a slightly different angle may keep it fresh and within our sights.

The intensity ebbs and flows as the dig continues (perhaps this is necessary to maintain momentum and manage one’s energy to complete the task). But always there is joy – within the digging process itself, but also in finally attaining the intended and hard-won goal.

I am reminded that the hard digging that is often required to achieve our goals should always be joyful. Not that there isn’t ever any pain involved (sore and strained muscles, broken toes and nails, bath, etc) but the experience of going after something with our entire being should definitely increase our joy quotient. If it doesn’t, is it really worth expending all our energies on?

Shirley Lynn has put together a wonderful tool aptly entitled Wisdom’s Way to JOY-Full Living in 2013 to help you dig deeper into your own life purpose and vision. She is generously offering this workbook free to everyone who schedules a session with her in January. Together you can get your ‘goal/hole’ started. Uproot some old turf. Dig deeply with absolute commitment and joy. The end result will be worth it.   ~Lucy

Happy New Year! As I woke up on January 1^st I felt a surge of new hope and joy in my soul. ‘Something’ different has been preparing itself to act as an intercessory power in my own life, in those I serve, in those they serve, and so on! Later that same day I read a wonderful blog by Greg McKeown posted on the Harvard Business Review, http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/the_disciplined_pursuit_of_less.html about the disciplined pursuit of less.

I’ve had multiple invitations to participate in joint ventures with others. In several cases, I decided to say no. Not because I didn’t think they were great opportunities, rather, I felt strangely aware that saying yes would diffuse the creative power of what I love to do and for those I serve. Greg McKeown calls this disciplined pursuit of less, the highest point of contribution (or our soul purpose in life).

In preparation for 2013, I worked through my own Wisdom’s Way to JOY-Full Living in 2013 guide book. As I focused on what I love most, what makes me feel most alive that I want to spend more time doing and offering in 2013, I found my own clear and heart-engaging focus – I found my highest point of contribution. And it’s all thoughtfully written in one workbook that I can keep in front of me.

Greg McKeown identifies four Predictable Phases:

1. When we really have clarity of purpose, it leads to success.
2. When we have success, it leads to more options and opportunities.
3. When we have increased options and opportunities, it leads to diffused efforts.
4. Diffused efforts undermine the very clarity that led to our success in the first place.

In other words, unless we are disciplined in the pursuit of less, Greg says, the highest point of contribution to the world, success is a catalyst for failure. So although I have found my clear focus for 2013 (and even beyond), I also am aware that I need to practise daily disciplines of wisely saying yes and no along the way. Recently I had a conversation with a colleague who suggested that I sign up for a group that seems to be doing work with similar themes to mine. I thought for a moment about all the projects I have deadlines for in the next month and in gentleness to myself, I said ‘no’. No matter how amazing this group may be, in the here and now, it will be a distraction. That’s the clarity of focus I need to offer my highest point of contribution. Perhaps in a couple months that may change and then I can happily say yes because at that moment, it continues to serve my soul purpose to help others make peace with themselves, with God/Spirit/Creator and all our relations.

When our lives align and focus on our soul purpose, then our focus actually becomes devotion to that Universal Presence and Power that creates and blesses all things. In devotion to The Great Love and Great Peace, I am blessed with peace with myself and with all my relations.

What is your focus for this year? Do you have a theme word that helps you concentrate your energy flow, your actions, and your creative power? What are the strategies and resources you need to experience what is most incredibly possible with your focus or theme word? Who believes in you so much that they will hold you accountable to this soul devotion and your highest point of contribution? I would be honoured to hear your stories.