intentions

STAIRS, originally uploaded by Justin Davis Davanzo.

i often think about my intentions these days...what are they? how do they affect my life and those around me? it seems so important to concentrate on our intention every day even if it feels like a small moment of concentration...more like acknowledgment of intention. sometimes it feels like an attitude adjustment that just reminds us to look up and forward.

these days, with winter fast approaching and the days getting shorter, it is easy for me to slip into a bit of a fog and forget about intentions, but this year, I am focusing on that practice and working towards willing things to work. there are so may analogies out there regarding intentions...one or two come to mind that I will share...
the first was told to me by a mentor of sorts a few years ago...she is a teacher i had that helped me see the power of intention...her analogy was simple...

"Waiting for your ship to come in....in this life you must send out hundreds of ships into the universe before one will return. This is the idea behind having a ship come in. How many ships are lost at sea and never return? How many find another port and decide it is better than the last? How many are caught in storms and swallowed up? You see the point here I am making...in order for one ship to make it back, the odds must be stacked and the intentions must be clear. By sending many, for sure, one will return."

ok...so my analogy that I came up with just now before I remembered hers is well, sort of silly but kind of true...I am not a tennis player by any means, but suddenly I thought of intentions as a tennis match...hitting the ball and sending it across the net with the intention of it going to a certain spot on the court and each time it gets returned you must try again...sometimes the ball will get past you...many times you will hit the ball as hard as you can, but only after a great effort and lots of focus and intention does the game come to a conclusion and hopefully the intention of piling up enough points to win has worked and the game is yours....

I suppose you could add this to many endeavors which is key....i often have to come up with tangible analogies to succeed in the not so tangible world of art and soul...like my bike riding stories...or boxing perhaps...or simply getting up in the morning....they all have to do with an energetic notion...a theme of purpose and pointed direction....

to be clear....this is not to achieve greatness in one day, it is merely to stay on the track of greatness...to stay true to our daily work as people, artists, athletes, families and souls. Our universe is a sounding board for intentions and by sending them out, they will respond accordingly.

Love and Understanding.