Challenge

I came across this in an email today:

Ultimately, 2020 is what WE choose to create. So I say, let’s make 2020 the most exciting year of our lives!

Which brings me to my question for you: how can YOU have a breakthrough with your own work next year? What would be the boldest goal you could possibly envision for your life, and what positive impact would come from achieving that goal? What would result from you feeling that you’ve REALLY fulfilled what you are here to do?

As part of the collective Shift that we intend to accelerate in 2020, I encourage you to stretch into making your greatest contribution yet.

I shared it with a friend. Now I’m sharing it with you. What is your #1 goal for 2020? I know, this is only November and we have another month before we usually start thinking about goals and forecasts for the coming year. But, why not start thinking about it now?

I’m retired, so I’ve moved from that phase where SUCCESS is measured in terms of dollars and cents to SIGNIFICANCE, where success is measured differently. How will you measure success in 2020? What will it look like if you achieve your goal?

My goal is to develop a closer relationship with God through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How will I do that? I’ve started a practice called Centering Prayer. I sit and calm my mind and do my best to be present to God as God is present to me. I’ve read that silence is God’s primary language. So, sitting quietly seems like an excellent way to listen to Him. After all, he said, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) My goal is to sit for 20 minutes, twice each day for the next year. I’ll consider myself successful if I do that 90% of the time during 2020. I don’t know what to expect from that practice. The book I’ve read (Open Mind, Open Heart by Fr. Thomas Keating) and the workshop I attended several weeks ago, said that we should not have any expectations. The results will show up in our daily lives. I hope I will exhibit more of the spiritual virtues: love, honesty, openness, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, perseverance, etc. Others will be the judge.

To help myself and others along this road, I’ve volunteered to lead a Centering Prayer group that meets at our church once per week to practice Centering Prayer and encourage one another in our practice. We have a good core group of dedicated men and women, so I think we are off to a good start. Tomorrow will be our third meeting. A pastor is involved in our group but not leading it.

Related to that goal is one of sharing my journey with others, which I am doing now by posting this. To that end, I’ve also started attending a Listening Circle. We are a small group of five men who meet and share what we are experiencing in our life/spiritual journey. We listen to each other and provide feedback as the Spirit leads us. We are fortunate to have a pastor who is a trained Spiritual Director leading us.

What am I here on earth to do? Improve my relationship with God and help others to do the same. As the song says, “With one hand reach out to Jesus and with the other bring along a friend.”

My ultimate goal is to prepare my soul for the next “life”. I am 74. Recently, I saw that Mr. Rogers, the guy my son thought was me when he was in preschool, died at the age of 74. That got my attention. I often feel like I am living on borrowed time. I thank God for each day I’m given and do my best to use it well. I encourage you to do likewise. As the Apostle Paul says, “Forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal.”

God bless you and have a great day, a Happy Thanksgiving and a great week!

I hope you’ve found this challenging and encouraging. If so, give me a clap and leave a comment. Namaste!