How would you describe the soundtrack of your life?
What is the nature of the sounds—both those inside your head and those reaching your ears—that you hear moment-by-moment and day-to-day?
Do you ever experience silence? Are you comfortable with it?
My soundtrack is very musical. Music helps motivate me and influences my mood. I listen to music in the car, when I exercise, and at other times where I might have chosen silence. But silence is never really silent, is it?
The Universe is talking to us all the time; it’s up to us to listen.
We all have signals in our life that let us know something is not quite right—signals that we should acknowledge and on which we should act.
These signals include how we feel, physically and emotionally. They also include how people react to us or the state of our relationships, how we spend our time, our energy level, and our ability to focus. Each of these can say a lot about the state of our lives.
Do we pay attention to these signals? Do we even know what they are?
What is the most valuable commodity?
Plutonium? Diamonds? Platinum?
I bet many people would say that it’s time.
Yes, I know—time is not technically a commodity, but we often treat it like one—we save it, trade it, and consume it.
How do we respond to all the demands on our time?
Some people treat it as a public good, or as something that is available on a first-come, first-served basis, to anyone. They give of their time freely, to whomever asks for it. Although that approach can produce some interesting results, most of us have too many responsibilities to be able to give away our time so generously.
Sleep is our opportunity to recharge, a time to let the day’s bumps and bruises—both psychological and physical—heal. It is a natural break in our daily routine that allows us to reset and try again the next day.
For some, sleep is just another part of life. Like eating or breathing, it is an activity that sustains their lives and allows them to function.
For others, sleep is a magical place that they can never get to often enough.
Some parts of our lives are fun, but other parts of it – not so much.
We all have responsibilities – things we have to do – things we do because we get paid to do them or because they are necessary parts of our lives.
But does that mean that these things can’t be fun?
Some people go through life with a sense of weight on their shoulders. Everything they do seems to involve drudgery, and they are constantly worried that something new will either add to the grind or throw everything out of whack.
Others always seem to be positive, happy and energetic. They breeze through mundane tasks and take on new challenges with creativity and vigor. They approach every aspect of their lives with a sense of joy.