Realigning with natural timing

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As a chronic overthinker and perfectionist, I often find myself inadvertently missing the natural timings of life. It seems that somewhere deep down, I’ve felt like time is an infinite endless resource, and that there will always be an opportunity to go back and complete things later. This sense has led me to be careless with time, often being late or delaying the start of certain tasks believing that there will always be time.

And it’s not just the timing of physical actions; it’s also in the timing of my emotional responses. It’s often like my reactions are on a delay. Emotions come, but sometimes a beat too late, missing the natural flow of the moment. When I should speak up, I hesitate. When I should let go, I hold on too long… often leading to an odd kind of awkwardness in my interactions.

Whatever my intention is – these missed beats are communicating something: hesitation, ambivalence, uncertainty. Though internally I see it as a moment to collect my thoughts, to the outside world it can look like a lack of conviction, a lack of care, or even disregard. This becomes especially apparent in my relationships. In my social life I sometimes find myself holding back my true feelings out of a fear of causing hurt. But that hesitation, that delay, ends up creating more uncertainty and more suffering.

So how do I get back in tune with the natural flow of time? I can reflect on the lessons from Tai Chi where the goal is to “make mind and body as one.” It is exactly a practice of being present, allowing body and energy to naturally flow from the center without overthinking each movement. When the body and mind move together, there is harmony. I’ve learned to physically move with the natural energy that’s already present, not forcing or resisting. So why don’t I take that lesson and apply it to all the other aspects of my life? Now is the time!

Preparing to hit the Bullseye

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I recently came across this neat graphic that nicely illustrates what it takes to learn how to hit a target in life. It’s not about being perfect on the first try— rather it’s about consistently taking countless shots, learning from the misses, and improving over time.

Image by @visualgrowthhub

This really resonated with me because I’ve definitely spent far too long in that first category: pulling back the bow, lining up the shot, aiming forever—but never actually releasing the arrow. The few times I have let go, it felt like the arrow missed the target so badly that it ended up injuring innocent bystanders and filling me with self-doubt. Those failures made me hesitant to try again, and over time, fear took over, and though I continued to draw the bow and aim my arrow, I stopped taking the shots. Over time the elasticity of the bow degraded, and eventually the target vanished from sight…. I gradually settled into a comfort zone—a life that, was truly quite comfortable. One with no real pressing need to aim for anything beyond where I already am.

But there’s a part of me—a deeper, restless part—that isn’t content to stay there. That part of me knows that if I stop taking shots and settle into that comfort then I’ll never truly be fulfilled. So it pushes me to wake up and reset my sights on my target and pick up the bow once more… Maybe that’s the call from my Bigger Self?

But starting over is so hard sometimes… When I do begin, I find myself running into a huge barrier – burnout. Not the kind of burnout that comes from doing too much, but the one born from self-judgment and perfectionism. It’s that voice in my head that criticizes every attempt I make, that compares me to some ideal version of myself I think I should be. The worst part is that this self-criticism drains me even more. Instead of resetting and accepting where I am, I spiral into distraction, trying to escape the discomfort of not having it all figured out.

That’s the habit—the cycle I’ve created. The more I judge myself for not being where I want to be, the harder it becomes to take any step at all. It’s like a mental loop that feeds on itself, building barriers between me and the goals I desperately want to reach. And in the process, I weaken the very part of me that intended to grow. My teacher says that mind is a muscle, and I clearly haven’t been exercising mine the right way. If anything, I’ve been doing the opposite: reinforcing pathways of self-doubt and self-criticism that lead nowhere.

But these days I’m learning to bring light and acceptance to those moments. I’m learning to stop punishing myself for the mistakes I’ve made and the times I’ve fallen short. It’s only through self-compassion that change becomes possible. Otherwise, the habit just continues—rooting itself deeper and becoming an addiction to destructive patterns of thought.

So, it’s okay that I’m not quite where I want to be. It’s okay that I’ve made mistakes. I truly accept where I am right now, and am ready to take responsibility for all of it. Only from this place of honesty and self-acceptance can I take the next step toward the life—and the me—that I want to create.

And the beautiful irony is I already have so much to be grateful for! An immense spiritual community that uplifts and supports me, a fiercely independent and loving family, an education and career, and some of the best friends anyone can ask for. Recognizing these blessings helps me see that I don’t need to pressure myself to get everything right today. The gratitude gives me clarity. And with that clarity I can set my sights on a new target and take my next shot.

So this is where I am right now – Choosing to aim to build myself up and become an embodiment of the values that I hold. To heal the parts of myself that are hurt from the failures and mistakes of the past. And to take that shot toward Bigger Self.

And hey I just hit my first target by making this post! =)

Question for today’s Enlightenment

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#Enlightenment on Saturday!


A good definition of #leadership is the ability to inspire, influence, and guide others toward a common goal. It involves setting a vision, making decisions, and fostering an environment where people feel motivated and empowered. Effective leaders #communicate clearly, build #trust, and adapt to challenges, while also encouraging #collaboration and #personalgrowth among their team members. Ultimately, leadership is about serving others and helping them achieve their best.

Questions for a better version of you.

1. What type of leadership do you need most at this time?
2. What type of leadership is stopping you from becoming a better version of yourself?
3. Why do you allow this to continue?

👏 Question for today’s Enlightenment 👏 

The teacher asked, “What’s repeating in your life, except yourself?”
A student replied, “Nonsense.”
What would you say to the student if you were the teacher?

Share some advice to inspire others!

Human Progress

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Why progress? We strive to build a better life for our future self. We have a vision in our heads of this future that we assume is coming. Once we build ‘this’ or accomplish ‘that’ we will one day be happy and content.

It seems like a core human drive. Is it apart of all of us? How long has it been part of being human?  We will be happy once we get there and build it, or so we think.

But once we get there we want to be somewhere else. It’s a never ending cycle. It sure is satisfying to complete the task, but once you get to the bottom of the list there is a back side of the page. A never ending list of tasks.

Looking back we have accomplished so much. So much.

But there is the different type of human progress, less of a material type and more of an energy type. Not too many of us embark on the journey.

But it is so worth the challenge. 

Sobering

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While in England, I stood on a pathway, talking with a new friend, who is eighty. Four geese had landed at the pond and we walked out to see them.

The sky was clear, the sun was bright and a few pretty clouds hung in the distance. We stood talking on the gravel walkway for several minutes, then walked another ten feet towards the manor house, beside a huge brick wall and stopped again.

Without any notice, a thin, silvery brilliant white bolt of #lightening, encircled in a soft silver mist came straight down from the sky. It was straight up and down and very tiny silver ember like shapes floated about it. There was no thunder, but only a distinct crack after it struck. 

We both tried to dive under the brick wall, and we’re as terrified as we were mesmerized by the beauty and force of this. I imagined myself as a crumpled heap, disappeared in a moment without notice or warning, and being found by the gardeners a few days later.

It was #sobering. 

We walked another forty feet towards the front door of the house and stood under the portico, looking down the long gravel driveway, flanked by a huge walls and summer houses on either side with large trees on either side.

The sky was still blue and clear but for the high clouds in the distance and there was no rain at all. Another, even larger bolt of lightening struck, also straight down and not upon the trees or walls or buildings but into the center of the driveway. We heard neither thunder nor a crack.

One wonders what to do to be safe and protected. But there was nothing we would have done differently. There was no lesson we could take away except that we are immensely vulnerable and live by the caprice of forces we cannot understand nor identify.

The fear and awe quickly shifted from a sense of deep vulnerability to the feeling that we were spared a quick fate we would never even have felt. With that came the feeling that we were extremely #fortunate. We thought we should have bought a lottery ticket on that day for the fates were in our favour. 

There were no marks upon either of us but only a kind of tingling, especially in our arms for several days. 

Actually I was hoping for some kind of superpower. Instead I became acutely more aware of the sky. While I would be less likely to go out in rain, there was simply no change in my activity which might protect me, should there be a near or closer strike. And somehow, seeing this exquisite force of nature, which toyed with my existence without restriction, could most closely be compared with the privilege of seeing some beautiful wild creature up close. I once saw a lynx walking and leaping up my driveway, caught in my headlights, in a gorgeous glistening coat. I must say that is about the nearest thing to the bolt of lightening.

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