Make this year completely different by doing this 
One Simple Thing:

Another year has gone by…

They seem to go quicker the older I get. Things that I thought happened a year or two ago, really happened five – it’s so easy to let the time go by unsupervised.

And that’s ok.  

In fact, it’s something that I’ve been working on these past two or three or, um seven? years – just letting things be.

There’s a beauty to a life lived in the moment, without expectations of yourself or others. A simplicity that is pure and experiential. 

There is a difference though – and it’s a big one – between living that life of pure experience and living a life on autopilot.

Pure experience is intentional, it is awake, it is always choosing. In this state you’re noticing – not judging – but noticing everything.

You notice the crinkles in the eyes of the people around you when they laugh and the sheer beauty of it makes you smile.

You notice every drop of water that hits your skin in the shower, and you give yourself up fully to the release and rebirth it offers.

You notice the smell of cooking, the soft squeaky snores of the cat on the cushion, the reflected light on the ceiling when the sun hits the candlesticks at just the right angle. These mini-moments are the beautiful reality of your life, and you notice every one of them.

You notice too, those hollow places – the pangs that come to tell you something is missing or that something needs to change. 

And then, you are choosing. 

Choosing what to do next.

What small thing might you alter about how you respond, behave or show up that will make the outcome a bit different this time?

In living at choice, you are confident and at ease. You know those tiny, intentional actions are all it takes to right your course.  

And so, you make them every day. One leads to the next – none are good or bad, right or wrong – these choices are merely pebbles in the continuous path of your life.

You are living in the present moment – always growing into what’s next, always at peace with what was, always in love with what is.

It really is that easy.

This YEAR:   Turning off the Autopilot

Use this gentle mantra to start each day. Try saying it aloud (or listen to a recording of yourself reading it aloud) each morning.

Today I will live a life of pure experience without expectations of myself or others.  I will open my eyes and see the beauty of what’s in front of me. I will listen to my heart and allow myself to grow in response to its hunger. And each small action I take today will make me feel proud and fully alive.

Happy New Year!