DISCOVERY

The space shuttle Discovery, the workhorse of the shuttle program, left earth last month on its last mission to circle the Earth and supply the International Space Station.  This coincides nicely with a weekly sharing some friends and I do in Facebooking our “Word of the Week” to intention and celebrate each other’s joys and happenings. As I was closing out on a week of being DEDICATED, I am embarking on a week of DISCOVERY.

Curiosity is in our human nature. We seek out to learn about the unknown, to invent, explore, experiment, trek toward the stars or plunge into the mysterious seas.  These deliberate acts of discovery can contribute to our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. Often, however, discovery is accidental, stumbled upon when going about our business or when looking for something quite different.  Some of the most famous accidental discoveries are microwave ovens, the colour mauve, Alfred Nobel’s dynamite, stainless steel and some favourites of mine such as Play-Doh, popsicles and the Slinky!

Have you not experienced your own less famous intentional and accidental discoveries and appreciated the Eureka! moment.  There is one more type of discovery that is particularly pleasing - taking a fresh look at what we already know, see or do and discovering the possibility of something completely new.  This is plumbing the depths of thought; pursuing intellectual discovery rather than the physical.  When we discover something hidden in ourselves and our perceptions of our environment, when we open another part of our sub-conscious, we are discovering truth of the most elusive nature. 

A discovery about ourselves allows us to open a door to a new world, a Universe of possibility more amazing than anything in space or on Earth. It is the power of the human mind and spirit at its best and that has implications of immeasurable proportions as you never know where the effects of the new you will travel or be felt, or the healing it can bring.  Your DISCOVERY has the power to change the world.  

Let go

A mentor of mine taught me that it is not change to something new that is a problem, it is letting go of the old.  This is true of me.  There are some things from the past that I thought I had let go and, in thinking about them recently, realize I had not.  I'm ready now. Why? I've been working hard mentally to be present in what I am doing, whether it be at work, at home or in the company of family and friends.  I've stopped romanticizing the aspects of my past that were unfulfilling and understating the experiences that have made me better (my mistakes).


It is often a difficult accepting the past in a realistic way to inform a positive, productive present.  It's not perfect, and I am dedicated to working on it as part of living every day positively and in gratitude.  In being open to change - new friends, new approaches to break old habits, new ways to start my days enthusiastically, sharing an attitude of fun and appreciation - I have been able to bring in the new by making space where the old things used to be.  Everything looks and feels so much better.

Auld Lang Sine

It used to be that one of the challenges of the new year was remembering to put the correct year on your  cheques when you were writing them.  Now, how many cheques does anyone write in a year?  I still write a few, but the reality is, I don't have to anymore.  


Such is the case with other old habits in life, those things that you want never to have to do again. You don't have to.  A better purpose and focus for a new year is to shake off what you don't like and make the change you have imagined.  Start with something that seems simple and not so disruptive that it takes too long - donate those dated clothes that you keep because they still fit (or you hope they fit again one day); redo a room and go all out from wall and trim paint to floors, window covering, accessories, pictures and paintings. Do one bag or box of clothes, one room, develop one friendship with someone you recently met.


Now work on your mind in the same way.  Dispose of the old, tired, and out-of-date ways and ideas.  And just like cheques and corded phones, they may only have become irrelevant very recently, but they are still irrelevant.  


One of my favorite quotes is one I heard from Joe Sherren, "If you want something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done."


That is 2011 for Kevin - doing things I have never done because I want to go places I have never been. 

Re the photo: It's not Style at Home, but it is a major improvement, believe me.